At some point this afternoon, a new and peculiar political obsession over something called 'box comments' is set to take hold in Westminster. While a highly technical aspect of Whitehall lore, box comments are used by ministers to jot down their thoughts or sign off on the thousands of documents that pass through their red boxes. Typically, they are mundane and routine, but today we are expected to see the box comments of Sir Keir Starmer on the due diligence reports that flagged grave warnings about appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
We already know that Mandelson failed a separate security vetting check, and we know that Sir Keir proceeded with the appointment regardless. The first tranche of documents revealed that Sir Keir was warned of a 'general reputational risk' associated with appointing Lord Mandelson. However, what remains unknown are Sir Keir's thoughts at the time. These were not included in the initial release of papers concerning Mandelson's appointment, sparking a series of allegations of a cover-up and conspiracy.
But today, there is nowhere to hide. Either we see the prime minister's thoughts explaining why he ignored clear warnings about Mandelson's ties to China, Russia, and Epstein, as well as his history of scandal, or the boxes remain empty. The latter scenario could be even worse, as it would imply one of two things: either Sir Keir simply ignored the paperwork—a severe dereliction of duty—or he is deliberately withholding embarrassing details.
The problem for the prime minister is that no option is favourable, and there is no place left for him to conceal himself. But in a sense, that no longer matters. Without a miraculous turnaround, Sir Keir's days in No 10 are numbered. Should Andy Burnham win the upcoming by-election in Makerfield and return to the Commons, he appears very likely to challenge for the Labour leadership.
Sir Keir's poor judgement in appointing Mandelson and his loss of integrity are now entrenched. As shocking as today's revelations may be, they will have little material effect. Even more worrying for Labour will be the disclosures about just how widespread the malign influence and power of Mandelson was within the party. We are expecting scores of messages between the disgraced former peer and ministers, as well as Labour backbenchers.
Leadership hopeful Wes Streeting will be bracing himself for potential embarrassment, despite having released his correspondence with Mandelson weeks ago in an attempt to pre-empt any scandal. There will also be attention on ministers being dragged into Mandelson's questionable business dealings.
All said, this scandal appears to be shaping into Labour's equivalent of Partygate—the series of revelations of rule-breaking in Downing Street that brought Boris Johnson down and paved the way for the collapse of the Tory government. The fact that it took the Conservatives 12 years in power to reach that point, and Labour less than two, speaks volumes about the dysfunction and ineptitude of the Starmer government.
