Wes Streeting has said he felt he was “hitting up against a brick wall” when trying to raise concerns about Gaza within the government, after private messages from Peter Mandelson were released in which Streeting was described as “hysterical” on the issue.
The messages, part of a large disclosure of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, showed Mandelson criticising Streeting to Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden. In July 2025, when Streeting was health secretary, Mandelson said he received “a wild long hysterical message from Wes about Israel”. McFadden later noted that Streeting had circulated videos and a note to cabinet on Gaza, including a dossier from three doctors describing their experiences under Israeli bombardment. Mandelson called the intervention “pathetic” and suggested Streeting was experiencing “an early mid-life crisis”.
In a statement to the Guardian, Streeting said he was “horrified by the war in Gaza” and had done everything he could behind the scenes to push for action. He shared eyewitness testimony from doctors to ensure “what was happening in Gaza wasn’t a war without witnesses”. He added: “I wasn’t by any means the only cabinet minister pushing for action, but we often felt like we were hitting up against a brick wall. Our concerns and motives were dismissed.”
Streeting’s 22-page dossier, seen by the Guardian, contained graphic images of children with acute malnutrition and amputated limbs. One doctor described operating on up to a dozen children a day without analgesics, saying half the casualties were children and the trauma was unlike anything seen in years of working in war zones.
Other messages revealed Mandelson describing Keir Starmer’s Downing Street as “beleaguered and bereft” and saying the prime minister “lacks verve”. McFadden complained that Labour MPs were focused on taxing to pay benefits rather than creating opportunities. Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds called the messages “embarrassing” but said they were released due to a parliamentary motion.
