Mandelson should never have been ambassador, Yvette Cooper says after damning messages revealed
Peter Mandelson “should never have been appointed” as Britain’s ambassador to the US, the foreign secretary has said, after damning messages between ministers and his disgraced colleague were published.
Yvette Cooper refused to say whether she fully trusted Sir Keir Starmer, describing the messages revealed in the latest part of the Mandelson files as an “uneducational process”.
The minister, who made the comments during a visit to China, also refused to say whether he recognized Mandelson’s criticism of Sir Keir Starmer; After the messages, it was revealed that the prime minister said he was “lack of enthusiasm”.
Asked about his disgraced counterpart describing Sir Keir’s approach as “forward, buckle, forward, buckle”, the foreign secretary told reporters in Beijing: “What I would say is that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed ambassador to the US and look, of course, there is now a lot of transparency about the messages that are being broadcast.
“This is a process that is not always instructive, but it is right to be transparent.”
Ms Cooper dodged the question of whether she would describe the prime minister as a strong and effective leader.
He replied: “I am in China to follow up on international security-related issues following the Prime Minister’s visit to China with President Xi earlier this year.”
Asked whether the prime minister had full confidence in him following the latest announcements about Mandelson’s appointment, the foreign secretary said: “I’ve been working with the prime minister on exactly these international issues, we see the work he’s doing around the world to make us stronger at home, so of course I support the work he’s doing on that.”
The government faced humiliation after releasing a second part of more than 1,000 pages of documents about Mandelson’s mishandled appointment to the US ambassador.
Sir Keir sacked Mandelson in September 2025 following mounting pressure to sack him following the leak of emails showing his colleague sending supportive messages despite Jeffrey Epstein facing prison for sex crimes.
MPs voted earlier this year to require the release of documents relating to his time as ambassador.
Ms Cooper added: “We have to remember two things: firstly, after all, this whole thing started with Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls, and sometimes it strays from that, and secondly, I think the whole government is preoccupied with the most important issues affecting our country, and that’s exactly why I’m having these important discussions about international security here in China.”
The documents, which contain thousands of previous private messages between Mandelson and figures at the heart of the government, show that he criticized the government and made recommendations.
The statement revealed Mandelson’s damning view of the government, with Mandelson warning that Sir Keir’s Downing Street operation was “beleaguered and deprived”.
The documents showed Mandelson “refused to comply” with a request to hand over his personal phone and allow the government to release WhatsApp messages and other information about his appointment.
Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden criticized Labor MPs in messages he sent to Mandelson, along with other messages revealing infighting within the Labor Party.
Mr McFadden criticized Labor in Parliament, telling Lord Mandelson: “Every meeting I’ve had there’s a question of ‘who can we tax to benefit others’? They’re asking the wrong questions.”
Cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds sought to defend Mr McFadden on Tuesday, telling Times Radio that he was a “hard-working, determined minister” and that his views on social security and welfare were “very well known and consistent”.
