Peter Mandelson, the disgraced Lord, launched a blistering attack on ministerial 'incompetence' over the gift of a red despatch box to US President Donald Trump, comparing the process to the BBC comedy 'The Thick of It'. In emails released by the Government, Mandelson described the shambolic behind-the-scenes negotiations as a 'saga' that dragged on for months.
The red box, usually reserved for UK ministers, was embossed with the presidential seal and title and presented by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers last September. Downing Street said it 'symbolises the special relationship between the UK and US'. However, the extended exchanges between high-ranking officials revealed confusion and urgency just weeks before the state visit.
In an email last August, then Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins said the Washington embassy was 'clear that one of the gifts that would mean the most to the president would be a red despatch box'. The deputy head of mission, James Roscoe, urged moving 'with some urgency', while a Downing Street civil servant sought 'any support/ideas on a way through this'. Roscoe later asked if the box maker, Barrow, Hepburn & Gale, had started work, noting it needed to be ready in two weeks, and questioned why the Treasury had 'sat on this since February'.
Mandelson, in an email to then chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, wrote: 'The saga goes on. See Olly email. This is like something out of Thick of it.' In a subsequent message, he added: 'What the attachment says is that Whitehall has known about (redacted) since February and it was confirmed in early July and nobody had the wit to say anything. What incompetence.'
Mandelson, who was later sacked over his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, also criticised Downing Street staff in WhatsApp messages, calling them 'keystone cops'. He revealed he had messaged Nigel Farage, 'trying to keep him nice without complete success', ahead of taking up his post as British ambassador to Washington.
