Labour holding back Mandelson files until after local elections | Politics | News

It has been claimed that important documents regarding the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador were kept by the Labor Party. After it was revealed that the next chapter of the Mandelson Files would not be published until after the local elections, Tory shadow minister Alex Burghart described the news as “completely unacceptable”.

He told the Daily Express: “The Government should not withhold these documents. Parliament has given the Government a strict instruction to hand over these documents. This is not optional. But the Prime Minister appears determined to keep the facts from the public until after the local elections. The Conservatives will continue to fight to get the truth.”

It has caused a major headache for Sir Keir Starmer, with previous documents showing he left blank an important note regarding his views on Lord Mandelson’s appointment. At the time, leaving the ‘box note’ blank was described as a ‘cover-up’ by opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, an accusation denied by No10.

As part of the former parliamentary process known as ‘humble speech’, the Conservative Party forced the government to release all dossiers relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Ambassador to the US. The first tranche, released as part of this process, revealed a series of shocking revelations, including that the Prime Minister was seeking to appoint his now disgraced counterpart due to “public reputation risk”.

The next tranche of potentially cursed files will not be released until after the King’s Speech on 13 May, which will take place after local elections on 7 May. It is said that the committee responsible for the publication of the files, revealed in the Times newspaper’s The State of It podcast, examined a huge amount of documents and evaluated whether they contained information that could harm national security or international relations.

The potential delay caused by the review process, which goes beyond the dissolution of Parliament next week, means the files will not be released before the King’s visit to the US. Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Ambassador to the United States caused constant headaches for the Prime Minister after it was revealed that he had not passed a security clearance, having been refused permission on the advice of security agencies.

Sir Keir claimed that he was not aware of the failure and did not knowingly mislead the House of Commons; He had previously demanded the resignation of former prime ministers.

Today Sir Olly Robbins, the former head of the foreign office who was sacked by Sir Keir following the revelation, said there was a “condescending attitude” to reviewing his precedent and that No10 had put enormous pressure on the FCDO to appoint him regardless.

Speaking to MPs today, the former Whitehall Mandarin said: “There was very strong expectation […] “He comes from No 10 and he needed to be in office and in America as quickly as humanly possible.”

The Cabinet Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No10 had previously said they were abiding by the modest address.