No 10 to release hundreds of files on Mandelson’s US ambassador appointment | UK news
Hundreds of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador are expected to be released to Downing Street on Wednesday.
The Guardian understands that the first tranche of files will include a two-page fact-finding report prepared by the Cabinet Office, which is likely to raise questions about Keir Starmer’s decision.
Sources said he had warned Starmer of the serious “reputation risk” of going ahead with Mandelson’s appointment in December 2024, given his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Officials said the document could have been “very difficult” for the prime minister and warned that his response at the time – reportedly asking former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, a friend of Mandelson, to debrief and explain the contents of the document – could be seen as “wholly inadequate”.
The disclosed documents are the first set of tens of thousands of files and are expected to include information that was publicly available at the time, such as newspaper reports showing the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
It will include correspondence between Cabinet Office, Downing Street and Foreign Office officials about Mandelson, who was sacked from his post in Washington last September. Mandelson, 72, resigned from the Labor Party and the House of Lords in February after the Epstein files were published in the US.
Following the Prime Minister’s questions, a statement will be made from chief secretary Darren Jones regarding the content of the broadcast.
Last month, MPs ordered the government to release thousands of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment, following questions about how precedent was reviewed.
He was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations that he leaked confidential information to the disgraced financier while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s cabinet.
The former Labor leader was later released from bail conditions despite being under investigation.
Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing, including misconduct in public office. He apologized to Epstein’s victims for remaining friends with him.
The government has agreed a framework with the Metropolitan police under which documents can be released without damaging the police investigation into Mandelson, according to parliament’s intelligence and security committee.
