Ministers ‘placing obstacles’ in manner of Mandelson information launch, annoyed MPs warn
Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, voiced her frustration about the amount of information being redacted about Peter Mandelson’s appointment
Peter Mandelson was sacked as ambassador to the US in September last year(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
Ministers have been accused of putting “obstacles” in the way of the truth over Peter Mandelson’s appointment.
One of Keir Starmer’s top aides was confronted by senior MPs who accused the Government of changing the goalposts over which documents it plans to release. The PM has committed to releasing all relevant files and messages around the decision to name Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Thousands of pages of documents will be published after the next Parliamentary recess, which ends on June 1. But ministers face calls to explain why some files have been redacted or withheld.
Darren Jones, the PM’s chief secretary, told the Commons that details such as junior officials’ names, emails, and phone numbers – and data about third parties – were rightly being removed. And he said raw data around vetting, such as bank account and relationship details, would never be released as this would undermine the process.
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But Tory Sir Jeremy Wright, a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) – which is overseeing the release of documents – accused the Government of finding new reasons for withholding information. He said that while ministers agreed documents would be redacted to avoid compromising national security or international relations, other reasons are now being used to do so.
He said: “We cannot accept that the government is entitled to ignore or to unilaterally alter the terms of the humble address (the Parliamentary motion demanding the documents are released).”
The Government is under intense pressure after it emerged UK Security Vetting (UKSV) had not recommended giving Mandelson security clearance before he was sent to Washington. This was overruled by the Foreign Office without the PM or his team being told.
Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ‘Trump whisperer’ in September last year as new details emerged about his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office following claims he shared senstive information with Epstein. This is alleged to have included details of an EU bailout following the 2008 economic crash. He denies wrongdoing.
Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, told MPs: “I am disappointed at the answers that the Government has given.
“It seems to me that one of the questions in relation to the Mandelson appointment is why it is that when the UKSV document had two red boxes ticked – which included this man should not be appointed – that somehow or other that was translated into he should be appointed.
“And it is very important that the public know and understand that we are learning from the mistakes that were clearly made, and we cannot know that those lessons have been learned unless they are checked.
“And the committees in this House, my committee and the ISC are trying our best to get to the truth of this, and we are having obstacles put in our way.”
Mr Jones said that when the next set of documents is released, there will be an explanation about what is left out. And he pointed out that raw data around vetting would never be published.
Following an urgent question in the Commons, Lord Beamish, who chairs the ISC, told the BBC there is no cover-up – but the Government must explain itself. He said: “What we need is clarity, so that when they are released in June, that people know exactly the reason why things have been redacted.
“There’s not a cover-up here, it’s just being transparent, and the problem is that the humble address as it’s framed is very wide and at the moment it includes documents which I think for good reason should be withheld.”
