UK to Publish First Mandelson Vetting Documents Next Month

The UK government said it aims to publish the first set of documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador early next month, a move that is likely to drag out an embarrassing episode that has called Keir Starmer’s judgment into question.

The prime minister was forced by a Parliamentary motion to agree to publish the material after emails in the Jeffrey Epstein disclosures in the US appeared to show Mandelson disclosing market-sensitive information at a time when he was a serving minister. Under the terms of the motion, the government must disclose communications between Mandelson and ministers and officials for the six months prior to his appointment as ambassador, and throughout his 7-month tenure as envoy, a requirement that is likely to produce thousands of documents.