Newly released UK government records show private exchanges involving former U.S. Ambassador Peter Mandelson, whose appointment has drawn renewed scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and failed security vetting.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

More than 1,500 pages of UK government records released June 1 have renewed scrutiny of former British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, whose short tenure in Washington ended after questions intensified over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and his failed security vetting.

Mandelson, a longtime Labour figure and former Cabinet minister, was appointed envoy to Washington at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer later fired him after just nine months in the post. Starmer said in March that the appointment had been a mistake, while also saying he had not been told Mandelson failed security checks.

The document release was made in response to lawmakers’ demands for transparency. The records include emails, text messages and internal correspondence involving Mandelson, ministers and government advisers. They also show Mandelson privately criticizing Starmer’s government while raising concerns about the difficulty of managing UK interests under Trump.

In a November 2024 note to then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy, written shortly after Trump won a second term but before Mandelson’s appointment was announced, Mandelson described the Washington role as a major diplomatic challenge.

“I fear that navigating Britain’s interests through the Trump administration will require super-human skills and luck and a massive team effort,” Mandelson wrote.

The appointment had already been under scrutiny before the latest records were released. A first batch of documents published in March showed ministers had been warned that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein created a “reputational risk.” Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

Mandelson’s association with Epstein has been publicly known since at least 2002. Starmer has said he did not know the closeness of the relationship until the latest tranche of Epstein-related files was released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The controversy deepened after it emerged that Mandelson had been approved for the ambassadorship despite failing security vetting. That revelation led to resignations and firings as blame shifted between Starmer and senior civil servants involved in the vetting process.

The June 1 release did not include Mandelson’s vetting summary, although the summary is not part of a police investigation. Some documents were withheld at the request of police investigating Mandelson for alleged misconduct in public office. Others were redacted on national security grounds.

During a House of Commons debate held shortly after the documents were released, Conservative lawmaker Alex Burghart criticized the missing records and the volume of redactions, saying the apparent lack of communication between Starmer and Mandelson “beggars belief.”

Burghart said Mandelson had refused to surrender his phone.

“We know that Peter Mandelson has refused to hand over his phone—it is in the document. We know that he was asked to give over his phone on 31 March. … He has declined to do so, and it is simply not acceptable that the government should allow this to pass without some sort of pushback,” Burghart said.

He also criticized the scope of redactions.

“There is then the matter of redactions. There are acres and acres of white space, a constellation of asterisks,” Burghart said.

Starmer’s Chief Secretary Darren Jones told lawmakers that the disclosure process cost more than 1 million pounds, or more than $1.35 million. Jones said he understood questions remained over missing communications and redactions that were not made on national security grounds. He said some of his own exchanges with Mandelson were not published.

“Some messages may not have been backed up where devices may have been changed or disappearing messages turned on, for reasonable and permitted reasons, including before the dismissal of Peter Mandelson … my messages included,” Jones said.

The latest documents state that the government “has no further recourse to search the personal devices of Peter Mandelson” after he refused to hand over his phone.

Mandelson was arrested in February by detectives investigating allegations that he passed sensitive government information to Epstein while serving as a British government minister in 2009. He was released without charge or bail conditions while the police investigation continues.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after an earlier Epstein files release showed Mandelson had sent supportive messages to Epstein after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Starmer later apologized to Epstein’s victims, saying he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies.”

The June 1 records also revealed private criticism of Starmer’s leadership from within Labour circles. In a May 2025 WhatsApp exchange with Mandelson, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden wrote, “Keir is not leading from the front.”

Mandelson responded that “Keir lacks verve” and said the government needed to act, “dare I say it … in a more Trumpian risk taking and dare devil way.”

In July, Mandelson described the government as “beleaguered and bereft,” saying ministers did not “really know what Keir thinks or wants.”

“In fact most of them don’t think Keir knows what he wants,” Mandelson wrote.

Trump had publicly criticized Mandelson’s appointment. In an April 20 Truth Social post, Trump wrote: “Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom acknowledged that he ‘exercised wrong judgement’ when he chose his Ambassador to Washington. I agree, he was a really bad pick. Plenty of time to recover, however!”

Mandelson has faced multiple scandals during his political career. He was twice forced out of government over financial controversies. In 1998, he resigned after failing to disclose a home loan from a senior minister. After returning to government, he was forced to resign again over a passport scandal involving the billionaire Hinduja brothers.

The March document release showed concerns over the “reputational risks” tied to Mandelson’s Epstein friendship, his prior resignations and his support for closer ties with China. However, the documents released so far have not shown what steps, if any, were taken to mitigate those risks before he was appointed ambassador.

Starmer is facing pressure from within Labour, with about a quarter of his party’s lawmakers reportedly urging him to step down. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, viewed as a party favorite, would need to win a June 18 parliamentary by-election before he could challenge Starmer for the leadership. Several other lawmakers, including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, have indicated they would be prepared to run in a leadership contest.

Following the release of the Mandelson documents, Burnham wrote on X that Westminster needs cultural change.

“When I left Westminster 10 years ago, I did so in the belief that it needed fundamental culture change. I remain of that view and believe that change can’t come soon enough,” Burnham said.

Lawmakers are expected to continue reviewing the files before another House of Commons debate June 2, where Starmer is expected to face further questions about Mandelson’s appointment, the missing vetting records and the government’s handling of the Epstein-linked controversy.