Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, sent messages of commiseration to Peter Mandelson following his dismissal as US ambassador, according to leaked texts. The messages were not disclosed as part of a parliamentary humble address request for government communications relating to Mandelson.
In the texts, reported by The Spectator, Jones wrote: “You’ve been doing such a great job, and you worked wonders with Trump. I’m so sorry about today.” Jones also sought Mandelson’s advice on a reshuffle and made critical remarks about then-business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the influence of trade unions.
Jones reportedly said he had “lost faith” in Reynolds’ advisers, citing a disagreement over Port Talbot where they “repeatedly took a different position to us in HMT ‘because that’s what the unions want’.” He also expressed a preference to become business secretary, technology secretary or energy secretary in any reshuffle.
Jones defended the missing messages, telling MPs that only Mandelson could disclose them, as Mandelson had refused to hand over his phone. Jones acknowledged that some messages could not be retrieved due to device changes or disappearing message settings, including his own.
The government published over 1,500 pages of documents on Monday, but MPs have raised concerns about missing items, including messages between Mandelson and the prime minister’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and a security vetting summary. Some documents have been withheld due to a police investigation into Mandelson for misconduct in public office.
