Lord Mandelson was critical of the government getting rid of VAT exemptions for private schools, his messages show.

Mandelson spoke briefly about the policy in a text exchange with the Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Angela Smith on 31 August 2024.

The government introduced VAT on school fees in January 2025.

Baroness Smith wrote there was "grumpiness on our side from more on our side than I'd like on getting rid of the VAT exemption in private schools and the retirement age."

She adds that Lords reform "is always interesting" and that it is great to be back in government.

Responding, Mandelson says: "I am afraid I think the VAT policy was probably unwise".

Files show that Peter Mandelson suggested Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "consistently going for direction B" in a text exchange with Pat McFadden.

In a conversation in July 2025, Mandelson told McFadden: "I went in to No 10 after I saw you. It is beleaguered and bereft. It requires complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence to get anywhere."

While the two discussed staff in No 10, Mandelson suggests the team around Starmer "are not led and none of them really know what Keir thinks or wants. In fact most of them don’t think Keir knows what he wants".

In the exchange, which took place on 30 July 2025, Mandelson suggests Starmer is consistently choosing "direction B" over direction A.

"His recanting on his immigration speech, on welfare, now Gaza," he lists, adding: "There is definitely a “let Keir be Keir” trend. This is what Morgan [McSweeney] senses and so it is particularly acute for him".

Mandelson adds: "His view from when Keir first stood is that the cycle has been the same, advance/buckle/advance/buckle."

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

The man who is now work and pensions secretary described conversations he had with other Labour politicians about the welfare system and public spending in a pretty blunt way.

"Every meeting I have is 'who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others'," Pat McFadden wrote to Lord Mandelson in May 2025.

"They're asking the wrong questions," McFadden adds.

Allies of McFadden point out that message was sent before he was in charge of the UK's benefits regime. He was running the cabinet office at the time.

A spokesperson for the work and pensions secretary says: “Pat has fully complied with the Humble Address and handed over all messages.

“His only contact with Peter Mandelson since he left government has been to urge him to think about the victims in all this and apologise to them.”

In an exchange with cabinet minister Pat McFadden, in May 2025, Mandelson wrote that "Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole."

Mandelson and McFadden, who was then a cabinet minister for intergovernmental relations, appeared to be discussing the government's strategy following Labour's losses in last year's May local elections.

McFadden asks: "What do we actually do?"

Mandelson replies: "It stems from the top and Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole. People’s heads are broadly in the right place but you need more people who can execute."

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

The security official at the centre of the Lord Mandelson vetting row said in an email to senior officials that both the Foreign Office and Cabinet Office had agreed that Mandelson must undergo Developed Vetting (DV).

Ian Collard, the Foreign Office's chief security officer, said that both departments had decided that "Lord Mandelson should undergo the normal DV clearance procedure".

For context: This process is carried out by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), a specialist agency within the Cabinet Office and is designed to identify whether people applying for government jobs pose a security risk.

Collard said there was an "exemptions policy" but that this had not been created for "the unusual situation of MPs/Lords being appointed to ambassadorial positions".

He also said: "We all recognise that the US are strict about clearance matters, and will likely check Lord Mandelson's clearance... ahead of any sensitive discussions he will be invited to upon arrival in Washington.

"Failure to report the correct clearance could have an awkward impact, which we would want to avoid."

The documents reveal officials said Mandelson would also have to "apply for STRAP clearance" which would allow him to view secret and top secret government documents.

In a WhatsApp message exchange between Lord Mandelson and pensions minister Torsten Bell, Bell refers to the "big picture" of government as "messy".

Mandelson says: "It's messy because the government doesn’t do policy, generally speaking, well enough”.

In the July 2025 exchange, Bell asks Mandelson which government he is referring to, to which the then-ambassador says: "Our government!"

Swansea West MP Bell then replies: "Well that is definitely true - everyone seems to think it's someone else's job to get the policy right... which is very odd."

Mandelson then says: "As the saying goes, rubbish in rubbish out..."

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

The Business Secretary Peter Kyle said he would "action" advice from Lord Mandelson to include "more positive language about AI" at the start of a speech at a major international security conference.

On 8 February 2025, Mandelson told Kyle, who was then the government’s technology secretary, that his speech would "benefit from more positive language about AI up front before you get into the security stuff".

Kyle replied: "That's all v good advice which I'll action. Thank you."

Six days later Kyle gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference in which he said "in the UK, we reject the doomsayers and the pessimists" about artificial intelligence.

One message exchange shows Lord Mandelson commiserating with former transport secretary Louise Haigh, when she resigned from the prime minister's Cabinet after it emerged she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago.

"Lou, I am very sorry about this," he says in a WhatsApp sent on 29 November 2024 - the day of her resignation.

"You have been brave and loyal in your decision but it seems harsh given you were appointed in full knowledge."

"But you have acted in a way that enables you to come back later and everything you say and do now should be done with that in mind. Strong and honourable," he adds.

Haigh replies: "Thank you Peter, that was a really kind message."

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

Peter Mandelson refused to hand over his own WhatsApp messages to the government, the files show.

The explanatory notes at the start of the document dump explains that "on 31 March the [Cabinet Office] wrote to Peter Mandelson - via his solicitors - to request any information held on his personal phone.

"Peter Mandelson declined to comply with this request. The government has no further recourse to search the personal devices of Peter Mandelson."

Allies of the Labour peer have previously said it would not be appropriate for him to hand over documents to government while the Metropolitan Police investigation is still ongoing.

It's understood many of Mandelson's text messages as ambassador were on his official work phone and this was taken off him soon after he was sacked.

The BBC has approached Lord Mandelson for comment.

Lord Mandelson told Justice Secretary David Lammy that he would make sure the government "never regret" appointing him as US ambassador, files released by the government show.

In a handwritten note, dated 18 November, 2024, Mandelson writes if the government "were to appoint me I would make sure you never regret it".

At the time, Lammy was foreign secretary.

Mandelson was announced as the UK's ambassador to the US the following month, on 20 December 2024.

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

Mandelson and senior officials discussed commissioning an official government “red box” to give as a gift to Donald Trump, the documents reveal.

Amid complications in organising this, the former US ambassador told then-No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney he’d “gone tonto” and that the “saga” was “like something out of [TV comedy show the] The Thick of It”.

Olly Robbins, then the top official at the Foreign Office, said “one of the gifts that would mean the most to the President would be a red dispatch box with the gold crest and lettering mimicking a UK Government Ministerial box but with “President of the United States” inscribed upon it".

The government has released three volumes each made up of hundreds of pages relating to Lord Mandelson.

The first volume is made up of 598 pages, while the second has 554 pages and the third has 352 pages.

The documents include a mixture of WhatsApp messages, emails and hard-copy files, and they include exchanges between politicians.

The latest batch of files relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the US has just been released.

We're combing through the documents now, and will bring you the key lines shortly. Stay with us.

In February, MPs approved the release of documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially insisted he would not publish anything that could damage national security or diplomatic relations.

But this position unravelled when senior Labour figures - including former deputy PM Angela Rayner - urged ministers to change course.

The government ultimately agreed to involve a cross-party parliamentary committee in the process - the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). Sensitive documents have been referred to the ISC to decide what can and cannot be published.

The first tranche of documents was published in March.

Image source, PA Media

The first set of documents relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as theUK's ambassador to the US focused on the process of hiring and later firing the peer.

Ahead of today's expected release of a new tranche of files, we've taken a look back at the key takeaways from those documents:

"Reputational risk": Keir Starmer was advised that Mandelson's relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein posed a "general reputational risk" before his appointment as ambassador.

"Weirdly rushed": The prime minister's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, had said in a "fact-finding call" he found the appointment of Lord Mandelson "weirdly rushed".

Severance package: The files suggested Mandelson requested a severance payment of £547,201 after he was sacked. The BBC understands he takes issue with this claim and insists he made it very clear he had no intention of taking his case to an employment tribunal. The Treasury ultimately agreed a payment of £75,000.

Ministers braced for private texts and WhatsApps in Mandelson file releasepublished at 13:33 BST

13:33 BST

Chris Mason and Henry Zeffman
Political editor and chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to Washington is like a bad news boomerang for the government.

Over and over again the prime minister's most consequential judgement in office circles back into ministers' airspace – and today it will do so with gusto.

It will be "another one of those weeks" one senior figure said, wearily.

The scale of what is to come will be quite something: the largest government publication ever put before the Commons, and therefore us, other than the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War – and that was a 12 volume, 2.6 million word affair.

It won't be on that scale, but it will run to over 1,000 pages. The first tranche, back in March, amounted to 147 pages.

Printed and bound, the publication will be made up of three volumes. More than 160 of the pages are made up of Lord Mandelson's text messages and WhatsApps.

In big picture terms, the documents will offer a fascinating internal insight, at scale, into how government works: the private interactions, information flows and disagreements.

• Read the analysis in full

Image source, PA Media

On 20 December 2024, Keir Starmer announced he would be appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US, saying he would bring "unrivalled experience to the role".

A specialist agency within the Cabinet Office then began the vetting process. It recommended Developed Vetting clearance be denied, but Mandelson was granted clearance by Foreign Office officials to become ambassador.

Here's a quick glance at what has unfolded since:

• 11 September 2025: Mandelson is sacked from his role following fresh revelations about the extent of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
• 1 February 2026: Mandelson resigns from the Labour Party and steps down from the House of Lords
• 4 February 2026: MPs vote in favour of releasing documents relating to Mandelson's appointment
• 8 February 2026: Morgan McSweeney quits as Starmer's chief of staff after it's revealed he advised the PM to appoint Mandelson
• 23 February 2026: Mandelson is arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, then released. He remains under criminal investigation and has repeatedly let it be known that he believes he has not acted criminally, did not act for personal gain and is co-operating with police
• 11 March 2026: The first batch of files is released, showing Starmer was warned of the reputational risks before appointing Mandelson
• 16 April 2026: No 10 confirms Mandelson failed the vetting process and says Starmer was not made aware. The former head of the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, is sacked
• 20 April 2026: Starmer tells MPs that if he had known Mandelson had failed vetting he would not have gone ahead with the appointment

• 28 April 2026: McSweeney says he made"a serious mistake" in recommending the appointment of Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US
• 31 April 2026: Three sources involved in the process of publishing the so-called Mandelson files tell the BBC the second tranche of documents will be published on 1 June
• Today: The prime minister's spokesman confirms the second batch of files will be released

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

Today's release of more than 1,000 pages of government documents is among the largest ever laid in Parliament.

Senior government sources have conceded the files will include details of text exchanges between ministers, advisers and Lord Mandelson which are embarrassing and cringeworthy.

We can expect to read details of the discussions around Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador, as well as an insight into his time as the UK’s man in Washington.

The document dump will contain emails, briefings and memos, as well as pages of messages on what seems to be the government’s preferred communications platform: WhatsApp.

Mandelson’s vetting file will not be included - it’s understood the Metropolitan Police have asked for it to be held back while they investigate him on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Mandelson has denied wrongdoing.

Other disclosures will be redacted on grounds of national security or international relations, such as private messages which could be critical of US President Donald Trump.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

A little earlier, Downing Street said the second tranche of the so-called Mandelson files will be released around 14:30 BST.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones will be speaking in the Commons an hour later.

The PM's official spokesman says "every government department" was involved in meeting the terms of the humble address - the demand from Parliament to see documents related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment and time as the UK's ambassador to the US.

This is "the largest ever response to a humble address", the spokesman adds, which he says will provide "unprecedented" government transparency.

It has involved the discovery, assessment and analysis of "thousands of documents" and material of a party political nature will be included "in the interests of maximum transparency".

He also says there will be a clear explanation of how documents were gathered and any redactions made.

Some documents held back at the request of the police will be made available at a later date but the timing is not in the government’s hands.

Asked about disappearing messages in WhatsApp chats, he said there is a review of corporate communications channels.

The spokesman also says, when asked if a response is expected from Keir Starmer, that the PM has no "public facing commitments" today.

Image source, PA Media

A second set of documents relating to Peter Mandelson's appointment as the UK's ambassador to the US will be released today.

A government spokesperson says the release will provide "unprecedented government transparency". It will be made up of three volumes, running over 1,000 pages. More than 160 of those will include Lord Mandelson's text messages and WhatsApps.

Mandelson was sacked as ambassador in September 2025 after fresh revelations emerged about the extent of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Back in February, MPs voted to force the government to publish all papers relating to his appointment through a humble address - a parliamentary mechanism used to force the government to disclose certain information.

The first tranche of documents, published in March, showed PM Keir Starmer was advised that Mandelson's relationship with Epstein posed a "general reputational risk".

Our team of writers and correspondents will bring you the latest developments and analysis over the next few hours - stick with us.