‘Embarrassed’ Wes Streeting publishes bombshell Peter Mandelson WhatsApp messages

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has released private WhatsApp messages with Peter Mandelson revealing he fears he’s ‘toast at next election’ and claims Israel is committing ‘war crimes’

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Keir Starmer is fighting for his political survival as the Peter Mandelson controversy engulfs the Government. Cabinet ministers have rushed to defend Mr Starmer after Scottish Labour chief Anas Sarwar demanded he resign as PM. Former Deputy PM Angela Rayner – viewed as a potential future leader – has also thrown her full backing behind the embattled PM, who is struggling to persuade his MPs to remain loyal just hours after Mr Sarwar became the most senior Labour figure to demand Mr Starmer’s resignation.

In a dramatic development, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has now released private correspondence with Lord Mandelson as he fights back against allegations about their association.

The Health Secretary took this step in an attempt to counter criticism regarding his ties with the Labour veteran. Mr Streeting informed Sky News, who exclusively obtained the correspondence, that he had “nothing to hide”.

Private correspondence reveals him confessing he worries he is “toast at the next election,” that he believes the government has “no growth strategy at all,” and that Israel is “committing war crimes before our eyes”. Mr Streeting has dismissed allegations and insinuations about his relationship with Peter Mandelson, going as far as to publish some of their exchanges.

In a piece for the Guardian, he clarified that while they weren’t close friends, he wasn’t going to deny his association with Mandelson, stating: “I am not going to wash my hands of my actual association with him either”.

He elaborated: “We saw each other for dinner on average once a year with others. He offered advice. My partner worked for him 25 years ago and I therefore got to know Mandelson better than some of that generation in politics.”

Although he denied having any sway over the decision to dispatch Mandelson to Washington, he admitted: “I filtered the news of it entirely through the lens of whether it seemed a sensible way to help our relationship with a critical ally at a crucial moment.”

He further commented: “We need to be honest about the fact that if women like Jess Phillips had been in that room when the decision was taken, Peter Mandelson would never have been sent to Washington.”

Sky News host Beth Rigby asked the politician “how embarrassed are you of these WhatsApp messages?” Streeting replied: “I am embarrassed to have known Peter Mandelson”.

Here is a transcript of some of the messages shared with the Mirror.

‘I am toast at the next election’

[28/03/2025, 11:36:06] Wes Streeting: I fear we’re in big trouble here – and I am toast at the next election. We just lost our safest ward in Redbridge (51% Muslim, Ilford S) to a Gaza independent. At this rate I don’t think we’ll hold either of the two Ilford seats.

[28/03/2025, 11:39:54] Wes Streeting: There isn’t a clear answer to the question: why Labour?

[28/03/2025, 11:48:44] Lord Mandelson: The government doesn’t have an economic philosophy which is then followed through in a programme of policies.

[28/03/2025, 11:49:15] Wes Streeting: No growth strategy at all

Israel

[24/07/2025, 23:00:29] Wes Streeting: Am sure this will come up in coming days, so wanted to check in with you on recognition of Palestine and the domestic politics of it.

Keir’s statement today was excellent, but Macron’s statement tonight ups the ante. Morally and politically, I think we need to join France.

Morally, because Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes. Their government talks the language of ethnic cleansing and I have met with our own medics out there who describe the most chilling and distressing scenes of calculated brutality against women and children.

Politically, a Commons vote will be engineered in September on recognition and we will lose it if we’re not ahead of it. There are no circumstances in which people like me or Shabana could abstain or vote against, for example. Conference will be a sea of Palestinian flags and the moderates will be waving them.

We need to be leading the charge on this. The alternative is being dragged there with enormous damage to Keir, the govt and the party.

I’ve never been a shrinking violent on Israel. I’ve supported LFI for over 20 years. Our sister party, Haaretz, and progressives are clear about what’s being done in their name and they oppose it.

I appreciate these things are always more complicated than they appear to those of us who aren’t up close as you are and I also appreciate how much Keir and David are giving to this personally.

But it is what it is. We need to lead, not follow.

[24/07/2025, 23:11:47] Lord Mandelson: I can see all this but I am worried that such a gesture now could blow a 2 SS out of the water if Israel decided that unilateral recognition justified further WB annexation which the US would be powerless to stop or reverse. That would be the end of it.

So I think we need to employ practical means to get a 2SS, not quickly I grant but realistically. The PA with reform and new leadership can advance this with Arab/US/European support. The alternative is a further deadlocked death spiral on an even greater scale than now.

[24/07/2025, 23:12:10] Wes Streeting: Israel is doing it anyway.

[24/07/2025, 23:12:39] Wes Streeting: This is rogue state behaviour. Let them pay the price as pariahs with sanctions applied to the state, not just a few ministers.

Politically, a Commons vote on recognition is expected in September and we risk losing it if we don’t take the lead. There are no circumstances where individuals like me or Shabana could abstain or vote against, for example. The conference will be awash with Palestinian flags, even waved by the moderates.