MPs have agreed that ministers must share sensitive documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador with Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The move follows a government concession after backbench pressure from senior Labour MPs Angela Rayner and Dame Meg Hillier.
Initially, ministers wanted to retain the power to block publication of papers deemed “prejudicial to UK national security or international relations”. Under the revised plans, documents will be referred to the ISC, which can make an independent decision. Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward said there would be “no political involvement” from ministers or Number 10 in the process.
The Metropolitan Police had asked Downing Street not to release certain documents about Mandelson, warning it could “undermine” an investigation. However, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the Met had “no jurisdiction” over Parliament. Ward said the papers would not be published immediately but would be released “as soon as possible”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that when he appointed Mandelson as ambassador in December 2024, he knew Mandelson had remained friends with Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein’s conviction. Campaigners are now urging full transparency over Mandelson’s links to the US tech firm Palantir, which holds UK government contracts worth more than £500m.
Palantir provides military technology to Israel and AI-powered deportation targeting for US immigration enforcement. Mandelson co-founded and part-owns the lobbying firm Global Counsel, which works for Palantir. The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, has been urged to release information about Mandelson’s role in arranging a February 2025 visit by Starmer to Palantir’s Washington DC showroom, where they met CEO Alex Karp. Seven months later, Karp signed a strategic partnership with the UK defence secretary, and in January the Ministry of Defence awarded a £241m contract to Palantir.
