MPs have voted to compel ministers to release documents related to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador to the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), following a government U-turn. The original plan would have allowed ministers to block publication on national security grounds, but backbench pressure from senior Labour figures Angela Rayner and Dame Meg Hillier forced a change.
Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward confirmed the documents will not be released immediately but said they would be handed over “as soon as possible”. The Metropolitan Police had asked No 10 not to disclose certain papers, warning it could “undermine” its investigation, but Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ruled the Met had “no jurisdiction” over Parliament.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer admitted he knew when appointing Mandelson in December 2024 that the peer had remained friends with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction. Campaigners are now demanding full transparency over Mandelson’s links to Palantir, a US tech firm with UK government contracts worth over £500 million.
Mandelson co-founded and part-owns Global Counsel, a lobbying company that also works for Palantir. The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, is under pressure to disclose details of Mandelson’s role in arranging a visit by Starmer to Palantir’s Washington DC showroom in February 2025, shortly after Mandelson became ambassador.
Ward stressed that the release process would be independent, stating: “There will not be political involvement from Number 10 in this process – this is the cabinet secretary and independent lawyers.” The ISC will decide on any material deemed potentially prejudicial to national security or foreign relations.
