Documents contain WhatsApps with senior government ministers, emails between officials, and handwritten notes from Lord Mandelson, who described No10 as ‘beleaguered and bereft’
Over a thousand pages of documents relating to Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington have finally been disclosed today.
They contain WhatsApps between the disgraced ambassador and top ministers, emails between government officials, and handwritten notes from Lord Mandelson, who described No10 as “beleaguered and bereft”.
It is the second tranche of documents released by the government since the Prime Minister was forced to sack Lord Mandelson from the prestigious posting over his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The files released today contain many redactions but Darren Jones – Chief Secretary to the Treasury – insisted none were made without the approval of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). He told MPs: “I can confirm that no material has been redacted on the grounds of prejudice to national security or international relations without the committee’s approval.”
The Mirror has sifted through the documents to bring you the key revelations and exchanges.
Mandelson declined to comply with phone disclosure request
The massive disclosure of documents shows that on March 31, the Cabinet Office wrote to Lord Mandelson via his solicitors to request any information held on his personal phone.
But the note adds: “Peter Mandelson declined to comply with this request. The Government has no further recourse to search the personal devices of Peter Mandelson.”
No10 branded ‘beleaguered and bereft’ in Mandelson WhatsApp
Lord Mandelson delivered a scathing verdict of the No10 operation in a conversation with Cabinet minister Pat McFadden.
In an exchange in July 2025, he said: “I went in to No10 after I saw you. It is beleaguered and bereft. It requires complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence to get anywhere. He added: “When I did what I did at No10 for GB (or indeed as MwP) there were good staff in No10 who used me as a political sounding board and then later as an influencer of the Cabinet. Who would you have in No10 as team to do this for you ? Who is the crack, core team there ?”
Mr McFadden replied referring to some of the “best” officials in No10 including Vidhya Alakeson and Liz Lloyd. Mandelson responded: “I agree but they don’t work as a team, they are not led and none of them really know what Keir thinks or wants. In fact most of them don’t think Keir knows what he wants.”
Mandelson told Lammy government would ‘never regret’ appointing him
Lord Mandelson sent a handwritten note to the then Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, telling him the government would “never regret” appointing him. Two days before Keir Starmer publicly confirmed the news of the Labour peer’s posting, Lord Mandelson wrote on December 18, 2024: “Dear David, As today (and all week) is polling day in Oxford and I am returning to London, I wanted to drop you a line, personally, about Washington.
“Thankfully, the media speculation has gone away and I hope this was not too irritating to you. I just wanted you to know that if you were minded to appoint me I would make sure you never regret it. I fear that navigating Britain’s interests through the Trump administration will require super-human skills and luck and a massive team effort.
“There is so much riding on it, on security and defence, on trade and economy and on the relationship, not to mention China. If we all put our best minds and energy to it, I think we can pull it off but we have to be realistic. For me it would be the last thing I do in public life and it would be a huge honour to serve you and the Government in this role. So if you are up for it, so am I.”
Keir Starmer might not survive welfare rebellion, Mandelson claimed
Lord Mandelson and top Labour minister Pat McFadden held panicked exchanges about the benefit cuts U-turn last summer, when Lord Mandelson warned there was a “strong anti Keir tide” Mr McFadden said: “I went through list of meetings with MPs given to me (and every other cabinet member). It was bad. They’re not moving.
Mandelson replied: “I talked to Morgan. He is thinking of amending the Bill to get it through but I wonder if that’s enough to stop it being defeated. If it presses to a vote and is lost I am not sure that Keir survives that.” Mr McFadden added: “He is meeting the ringleaders today. I think it’s very bad. Defeat, pull bill or gut it all destroy his authority.”
Gordon Brown ‘has it in for Keir’, ex-ambassador said
Messages between Peter Mandelson and Pat McFadden reveal serious concerns about manoeuvrings by Gordon Brown and Angela Rayner last summer. Mr McFadden – a close ally of the PM – told Lord Mandelson: “Lot of manoeuvring here this week. Angela, Gordon. Doesn’t feel good for Keir.
Lord Mandelson said he had raised it with Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s then chief of staff. He said: “Last night I was direct with him – Keir is not leading from the front and Morgan is not organising the centre as it needs to be Gordon has it in for Keir (and Rachel) big time. He doesn’t seriously believe that Angela is an alternative but she is an instrument of destabilization. I doubt he thinks Ed is fit for purpose but he is doing to Keir what he has always done to successive Scottish leaders.
Mr McFadden replied: ”I don’t know what Keir thinks of all this. He has not spoken to me about any of it.”
Lord Mandelson said the PLP was “mutinous”, to which Mr McFadden replied: “Yes. Every meeting I have is “who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others”. They’re asking the wrong questions.” He also lashed out at Downing Street, saying: “They have highly sub optimal personnel n No10, spads and civil servants.”
Another exchange of messages between the pair in July 2025, shows Mandelson accusing the PM of buckling to pressure. He said: “I have a feeling that Keir is now consistently going for direction B. His recanting on his immigration speech, on welfare, now Gaza. There is definitely a “let Keir be Keir” trend. This is what Morgan senses and so it is particularly acute for him. His view from when Keir first stood is that the cycle has been the same, advance/buckle/advance/buckle.”
Wes Streeting was having an ‘early mid-life crisis’
Lord Mandelson dismissed concerns from Wes Streeting about the Israel-Gaza conflict as a ‘mid life crisis’ and accused him of sending ‘hysterical messages’. On July 25 2025, Mandelson wrote to Pat McFadden, saying: “By way, I received a wild long hysterical message from Wes about Israel. I pushed back. I can forward but reflects pretty badly on his maturity in my view.”
The previous day, Streeting had written to Mandelson that “Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes”. But Mandelson messaged McFadden, saying Streeting’s behavior was “pathetic”. He added: “I think Wes is experiencing an early mid life crisis.”
Trump red box gift farce branded ‘Thick of It’
Emails published today show the ex-Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins suggesting the gift that would mean the most to US President Donald Trump would be a personalised ministerial red box.
He said “one of the gifts that would mean the most to the President would be a red dispatch box with the gold crest and letter mimicking a UK Government Ministerial box but with ‘President of the United States’ inscribed on it’”.
But it was clear there were complications in getting the red box. The disclosure shows the disgraced ambassador moaning in emails to Keir Starmer’s former No10 chief-of-staff, Morgan McSweeney, over the gift.
Lord Mandelson complained in an email to Mr McSweeney that “the saga goes one… this is like something out of [the] Thick of It… I have gone tonto on this.” It is not clear whether the gift was ever produced.
Minister Torsten Bell scathing about his own government
Keir Starmer’s pensions minister told Mandelson that everyone in government “seems to think it’s someone else’s job to get policy right”. In an exchange in July 2025, a year after the general election, Torsten Bell said his job was “a safe politically gig”. The DWP minister, who entered Parliament at the general election, told Mandelson on July 18: “I’m fine – pensions ministering is a safe politically gig, and an interesting one policy wise. Then just help Rachel and Keir out when asked on the side.”
In WhatsApp sent after 11.30pm he wrote: “Obviously the big picture is… mess.” Two days later Mandelson wrote: “It’s messy because the government doesn’t do policy, generally speaking, well enough. It all starts with policy.”
He then clarified he was talking about Mr Starmer’s government. Mr Bell replied: “Well that is definitely true – everyone seems to think it’s someone else’s job to get the policy right… which is very odd.” Mandelson replied: “As the saying goes, rubbish in rubbish out…”
Reform chief Nigel Farage was in touch with Lord Mandelson
Nigel Farage was in contact with Peter Mandelson shortly before Donald Trump’s inauguration, WhatsApps reveal. Although the file does not include any messages between the then-Labour peer and the Reform leader, Lord Mandelson revealed the two had been in touch in messages to a No10 official.
On January 18 last year, former comms chief Matthew Doyle messaged Mandelson with a link to a news story headlined ‘Farage held talks with Starmer team on helping with Trump’. Mr Doyle asked him: “Can I assume you don’t recognise this?”
Mandelson responded: “He may mean me because we have exchanged messages eg last week he went on TV and tried to make a thing about me not coming to the inaugural and I explained that I had to go through all formalities before setting foot on US soil etc. I am trying to keep him nice without complete success. I would advise against anything which sounds disobliging.”
Mandelson messages to half a dozen ministers over Oxford Chancellor bid
Cringeworthy WhatsApp messages reveal just how much Mandelson wanted to be appointed Chancellor of Oxford University during the late summer months of 2024.
In August, he messaged well-connected junior minister Georgia Gould – who went to Oxford and whose dad advised Tony Blair – pleading her to contact old university Labour pals to get them to register to vote. She gave him names of newly elected MPs who went to Oxford University and shared their contact details.
The files show he messaged more than half a dozen ministers asking them to register to vote for him. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ignored his message, as did whip Keir Mather.
Ex-Labour chair Ellie Reeves initially tried to return his call but did not respond to his other messages. Kirsty McNeill, a junior minister in the Scotland Office, responded and wished him good luck – and also agreed to give her views on a speech he was due to make in Edinburgh in a few months
James Murray – now the Health Secretary and then a Treasury minister – said he has registered to vote and says he will encourage Labour people from Oxford to do so too. Stephen Doughty, foreign office minister, also registered to vote, while environment minister Angela Eagle said she can’t think of “anyone better qualified for the job at this time” when asked to register to vote.
Mandelson messaged Haigh after she quit – but ignored by successor
Mandelson sent Louise Haigh a message saying he was sorry she had to resign after admitting she had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence over a mobile phone theft in 2014.
In a WhatsApp on November 29, 2024, he said: “Lou, I am very sorry about this. You have been brave and loyal in your decision but it seems harsh given you were appointed in full knowledge. But you have acted in a way that enables you to come back later and everything you say and do now should be done with that in mind. Strong and honourable.” She responded: “Thank you Peter, that was a really kind message.”
On the same day, Mandelson sent a message to the newly appointed Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. It read: “Heidi, many congratulations on reaching the Cabinet! You will be a great success – and your railway town can be very proud of you Peter x.” Ms Alexander does not reply. It read: “Heidi, many congratulations on reaching the Cabinet! You will be a great success – and your railway town can be very proud of you Peter x.” Ms Alexander does not reply.