The New Documents Are Worse Than the Last Batch

The UK government dropped another 1,500 pages of Mandelson files on Monday, June 1, 2026. According to the BBC and The Guardian, this latest release covers private WhatsApp messages, emails, and exchanges between Lord Peter Mandelson and senior Labour ministers — communications that were never meant to see daylight.

The documents present serious problems for Downing Street.

Mandelson Said the Quiet Part Out Loud — Repeatedly

On May 2, 2025, Mandelson wrote to Pat McFadden — then a Cabinet Office minister, now the Work and Pensions Secretary — that "Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole." According to BBC reporting, he later described Starmer's decision-making cycle as "advance/buckle/advance/buckle."

Mandelson — the man Starmer personally chose as his ambassador to Washington — was saying the Prime Minister doesn't know what he wants and folds under pressure. Repeatedly.

In a separate message, Mandelson described No. 10 as "beleaguered and bereft" and said it needs a "complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence." According to The Independent, he told McFadden that if Starmer's welfare bill had gone to a vote and lost, "I am not sure that Keir survives that."

The UK ambassador to the United States was privately speculating that the Prime Minister might not survive a Commons rebellion — while serving in that role.

McFadden's Damaging Quote

McFadden wrote to Mandelson that "every meeting I have is 'who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others.' They're asking the wrong questions."

According to the BBC, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch immediately seized on this, calling Labour "the welfare party." McFadden's office pushed back, saying he's long argued for welfare reform. But the message was written while he was a Cabinet Office minister — and he's now running the welfare system. The timing creates significant political difficulties for the current Work and Pensions Secretary.

The 'Delete All Traffic' Message

A No. 10 official told colleagues to "delete all traffic on this" during the Mandelson appointment process, according to The Guardian's live coverage.

This was an instruction to destroy government communications. British journalists should be asking who gave that order, when exactly it was given, and whether any records were actually deleted. The issue has received considerably less media attention than Mandelson's personal remarks about Starmer.

Mandelson Refused to Hand Over His Phone

According to The Independent, Mandelson "declined to comply" with a request to hand over his personal phone so that WhatsApp messages could be included in the release. What has already been published may be the sanitized version.

A man who served as a senior government representative — and was sacked over his links to Jeffrey Epstein — refused to cooperate with his own government's transparency exercise. The government allowed him to do so.

He Got Sensitive Briefings Before Vetting Cleared Him

According to The Guardian's timeline of the documents, MI6 was told that Mandelson was receiving access to sensitive information before his security vetting was complete. Mandelson apparently believed that his status as a Privy Counsellor entitled him to classified material without going through the formal vetting process.

This is not how the process works.

What's Still Missing

BBC political editor Chris Mason noted that the vetting documents — the ones that would explain exactly what red flags were known about Mandelson's Epstein connections and when — are not in this release. According to The Independent, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones confirmed in a Commons statement that questions put to Mandelson during vetting are being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan Police.

The most important document in this entire saga remains hidden behind a police request. The rest of the 1,500 pages are substantial, but they may also distract from that core unanswered question.

The Broader Pattern

Most coverage is fixating on the colorful quotes about Starmer's personality. "Lacks verve." "Advance/buckle." The quotes are certainly newsworthy. But they can overshadow the institutional questions.

A government official told colleagues to delete communications. A senior appointee received classified briefings without clearance. The key accountability document is withheld. And the appointee at the center of it all refused to cooperate with the transparency process. These are governance issues that extend beyond personality assessments.

What It Means

Each week this story runs, Starmer's credibility takes a hit. His own ambassador thought he was weak, his cabinet minister privately criticized his own MPs, and his No. 10 staff apparently told each other to delete the evidence.

The vetting document is still locked up. Mandelson's personal phone remains unavailable. And someone in Downing Street told colleagues to wipe the record clean.

Someone needs to answer for that.