Peter Mandelson’s unfiltered remarks to cabinet officials have been made public in hundreds of pages of documents relating to his appointment as US ambassador. The files include WhatsApp messages between Mandelson and senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden that criticise Keir Starmer’s leadership.
In the messages, Mandelson described Starmer’s No 10 operation as ‘beleaguered and bereft’ and said the prime minister lacked ‘verve’. He suggested Starmer should adopt a more ‘Trumpian’ style and criticised his tendency to buckle under pressure.
The documents also reveal Mandelson’s disdain for energy secretary Ed Miliband. After Tony Blair commented that Miliband’s net zero plans were ‘doomed to fail’, McFadden called Blair’s remarks ‘spot on’ while Mandelson dismissed Miliband’s response as ‘personal and stupid’.
Separately, the Department for Business and Trade was cut out of conversations about the US trade deal in May 2025 over concerns about leaks. Mandelson accused the department of being ‘irresponsible’ for briefing the press, and No 10 confirmed that special advisers had been warned of the risks.
