Ministers have faced renewed cross-party pressure in parliament over documents missing from a 1,500-page release of papers about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to Washington. Crucial documents were withheld at the request of the Metropolitan police on the grounds that they could “potentially prejudice” an investigation, including a document summarising the vetting process that concluded with officials recommending Mandelson not be given security clearance.
MPs expressed surprise at the absence of any documents detailing security mitigations that would have been necessary to address concerns identified by vetting officials, whose recommendation was overruled by the Foreign Office. Sources told the Guardian that the vetting summary contained concerns about Mandelson’s links to China’s finance minister, Lan Fo’an, the sanctions-hit Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and a former Israeli military intelligence general, Tamir Hayman.
Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said she had expected to see records of the mitigations to address those risks. “How do we bridge that gap? The only way that gap is bridged is by mitigations. And so, I spend my time looking for mitigations. And I can’t find any,” she said. Thornberry noted there was no sign of an “aide memoire” drafted by Foreign Office security chief Ian Collard when he reviewed the vetting file last September after Mandelson was sacked.
MPs also noted the omission of Mandelson’s declaration of interest form, withheld by the police along with photos, videos, voice memos and documents attached to official emails. Alex Burghart, speaking for the Conservative frontbench, demanded clarity and suggested the attachments might have “accidentally fallen out of the full disclosure”. Members of the intelligence and security committee noted that a parliamentary motion required the government to release “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the paymaster general, said the government had complied in full with parliament’s motion in what had been an “official-led process”, subject to precedents, data protection principles and ministerial guidelines. The debate featured an intervention from Alex Davies-Jones, who resigned as justice minister in May, calling on the prime minister to meet survivors of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Reading a statement by former model Lisa Phillips, she said survivors struggle to understand why Mandelson was appointed given his association with Epstein.
