Documents released on Monday reveal that Peter Mandelson and other senior Labour figures have been critical of the government, exposing deep divisions within the party. The files, published in response to a demand by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, were intended to show what ministers knew about Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein. Instead, they highlighted widespread infighting and doubts about Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership.
Mandelson's Critical Assessments
In a letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on 18 November 2024, Mandelson promised that if appointed ambassador to Washington, he would ensure Lammy never regretted it. However, the documents show Mandelson later expressed harsh criticism of Starmer and his cabinet. He wrote to Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden last May, stating, "Keir is not leading from the front and Morgan [McSweeney, his chief of staff] is not organising the centre as it needs to be." He added, "It stems from the top and Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole." Mandelson described No 10 as "beleaguered and bereft" and claimed McSweeney believed Starmer's leadership followed a cycle of "advance/buckle/advance/buckle."
Mandelson also criticized Health Secretary Wes Streeting as "hysterical" and "experiencing an early mid-life crisis" over Gaza. He called Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's criticism of former Prime Minister Tony Blair "personal and stupid." Chancellor Rachel Reeves, he said, was "on a growth mission but without an argument about where the growth will come from or how."
Internal Criticisms from Other Officials
Mandelson was not alone in his critiques. McFadden told him that Labour MPs were focused on "who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others" instead of asking the right questions. He also backed Blair's criticism of the government's net zero strategy. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell complained that everyone in government seemed to think it was someone else's job to get policy right. The documents also revealed lengthy discussions about procuring a ministerial-style red box as a gift for US President Donald Trump, which Mandelson likened to the BBC satire The Thick of It.
Limited Information on Vetting
Despite Badenoch's aim to expose security concerns about Mandelson's ties to Epstein, the documents provided little new information on vetting. Mandelson appeared dismissive of requests to declare his contacts with foreign officials, asking, "Do you mean literally every foreign national I have ever met?" One junior official advised him to send a handful of names to reassure the vetting team, even if it was "all quite artificial." The documents did not include any agreement by Mandelson to mitigate security concerns, nor details on why vetting officials initially recommended denying him clearance. A document detailing concerns about his contacts in Israel, Russia, and China has been withheld due to a live Metropolitan police investigation.
Epstein's name rarely appears in the files. While mentioned after Mandelson's sacking, it is almost never referred to before that. If Badenoch aimed to prove the government appointed Mandelson despite knowing about his Epstein links, she failed. However, she succeeded in highlighting a government riven by infighting and widespread doubts about the prime minister's suitability for office.
