The British parliament has released a large tranche of documents connected to Lord Peter Mandelson, a prominent Labour (and New Labour) figure discredited by his friendship with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Around 1000 documents, or 1500 pages including WhatsApp messages, are now in the public domain. At the time of writing, journalists are going through the various batches of correspondence in search of stories. While Mandelson’s messages from his personal mobile phone are not included, the responses of ministers, civil servants, and others to his musings are visible. A proportion of correspondence does include material that can be directly attributed to the fallen diplomat.
The ‘Mandelson files’ are being released as a consequence of a parliamentary ‘humble address’ procedure which has forced the Executive to release the materials in question. Mandelson himself was already under investigation, like the wider government, into how he had passed security vetting for the UK’s top ambassadorial job (despite his friendship with Epstein).
In a handwritten note dated November 18th, 2024 and made public today, Mandelson tells the gormless then-foreign secretary David Lammy that if the government “were to appoint me I would make sure you never regret it.”
He was wrong.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.
