Peter Mandelson was offered a highly classified government briefing before passing vetting for his role as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, newly released documents reveal.
The first tranche of documents detailing the vetting of Mandelson before he was appointed into the UK’s top diplomatic posting raise further questions about the former Labour peer’s appointment.
They also confirm The i Paper’s reporting that No 10 sped up the appointment of Mandelson as ambassador, with Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell calling the process “weirdly rushed” and “unusual”.
The files show that the Foreign Office invited Mandelson to a briefing on classified material just over a fortnight after he was appointed on 20 December 2024.
In an email from the department which cc’d then-Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Philip Barton, Mandelson was invited to a briefing on “higher tiers” – a term which security sources told The i Paper referred to classified material.
Mandelson took up the position on 10 February 2025. In September, he was fired after the depth of his relationship with Epstein was revealed in a document release by the US Congress.
The initial cache of documents disclosed by the Cabinet Office reveals new details around the timing of Mandelson’s security clearances.
They show that Starmer’s Political Private Secretary Nin Pandit asked the Foreign Office to press on with the appointment “at pace” so that Mandelson could be in post before Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president in early 2025, confirming The i Paper‘s exclusive report that the Foreign Office was put under pressure by No 10.
Powell, who was Tony Blair’s chief of staff before being brought back into No 10 by Starmer to advise on defence and security matters, “raised concerns” at the time with Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s former top aide. Barton “also had reservations about the appointment”.
A questionable timeline
The files show that Mandelson received a letter on 30 January last year from the FCDO formally offering him the role, which gave him a start date of 3 February and informed him that his diplomatic post required “DV Clearance” – developed vetting (DV) status to access highly classified material.
“Your security clearance has been confirmed by Vetting Unit and is valid until 29 January 2030,” the letter stated.
Less than a week later, on 4 February, Mandelson received a further letter from the Government informing him that he required STRAP – a regime that regulates access to sensitive intelligence material – on top of his DV process.
The letter informs Mandelson that he will need to submit a new STRAP application form and later states that this should be submitted “at least 3 months before you are due to start at Post”. He officially began his role six days later.
Two UK intelligence sources said it was “very unlikely” Mandelson received his STRAP clearance before starting his post.
Reputational risks
The fast-tracked vetting came after civil servants on the government’s propriety and ethics department warned that Mandelson’s appointment in Washington came with “reputational risk”.
In a document headed “Advice to the Prime Minister” on 4 December, officials noted that any “interest in his lobbying firm Global Counsel would have to cease” if Mandelson was appointed as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
The government’s vetting documents noted that the former Labour peer’s interest in the firm was a “reputational risk” pointing to open-source material about the firm’s work.
However, Mandelson retained his interests in the lobbying firm until at least six months after he was ascended into the role. He became ambassador in February 2025 and still held a 21 per cent stake in the firm the previous September, according to Corporate Filings.
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Last January, Mandelson entered into an agreement with Global Counsel to sell his stake in the business over time, after resigning as a director in May 2024.
Starmer was also warned about Mandelson’s role as a non-executive director of the Russian conglomerate Sistema, a majority shareholder of RTI – a defence technology firm which civil servants noted had “produced radar and satellite communications for Russia’s land-based missile[s[]”
A Government spokesman previously said: “No part of the vetting process was removed, or skipped in the case of Peter Mandelson. It is normal practice for vetting sponsors to expedite applications, and they can request that cases are prioritised based on operational deployment deadlines.”
Mandelson has denied all wrongdoing.
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