Cabinet Office to Publish Additional Lord Mandelson Documents Before Christmas

The UK government is preparing to release additional records concerning Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Previous sets of documents were published in March and June, though certain materials remained withheld due to an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation.

The Cabinet Office has announced that further documents will be published, likely ahead of Christmas. However, some records will continue to be withheld at the Metropolitan Police’s request.

Cat Little, Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office, stated that certain documents could “now be published without prejudicing” the investigation.

The Metropolitan Police launched its investigation following allegations that, while serving as a government minister, Lord Mandelson shared market-sensitive government information with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a letter to the chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, Little wrote: “The Cabinet Office is now beginning the process to prepare these documents so that they may be laid before the House in response to the humble address motion as soon as possible.”

She added that the documents would undergo review and, in some cases, may require redaction “for the purposes of avoiding prejudice to national security or international relations.”

The process is expected to conclude before Parliament rises for the Christmas recess on 17 December.

Lord Mandelson was arrested on 23 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He has repeatedly indicated that he believes he has not acted criminally, did not act for personal gain, and is cooperating with police.

“Our investigation into alleged misconduct in public office is ongoing,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The veteran Labour politician was appointed British ambassador to the United States in February 2025 but was dismissed in September after Downing Street said new information regarding the extent of his relationship with Epstein had come to light.

Following his dismissal, the government, then led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, faced significant criticism for appointing Lord Mandelson. In February, MPs voted to compel the government to publish papers related to his appointment.

Mike Wood, Shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: “We still haven’t got to the bottom of the Mandelson scandal.”

“Labour did its utmost to withhold this information, and it was only released due to the Conservatives’ humble address,” he added.

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