Sir Keir Starmer’s government said that it will not release further documents on the vetting of disgraced Lord Mandelson until next month and even then will be significantly redacted, sparking accusations of a potential “cover-up”.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told lawmakers this week that Parliament will have to wait to review government files relating to the hiring of Labour veteran Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington, despite his close ties with convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The decision, which was made despite the government being aware that Mandelson had continued the relationship even after Epstein’s child prostitution conviction in 2007, has resulted in major resignations, including Prime Minister Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney and ex-Labour Together anti-Breitbart censorship activist Josh Simons.
The scandal, which threatens to persist given the ongoing police investigation into Mandelson for allegedly passing British state secrets to Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, has even threatened to take down Starmer, who has so far refused to resign over the matter or his party’s disastrous at the local elections earlier this month.
However, with potentially more explosive information from the government documents on Mandelson yet to be disclosed, the timetable and the government’s ability to censor details have become a hot-button issue in Westminster.
Jones said that publicly disclosing all vetting documents would undermine the system itself, as those entering government expect a level of privacy, the Times of London reported.
However, he said that some of the files would be released next month and that the reasons for the redactions would be made evident. Yet, Jones did not commit to releasing the documents before the upcoming Makerfield by-election, which is likely to play a critical role in determining whether Prime Minister Starmer stays in office.
Critics, including Conservative MP Neil O’Brien, accused the government of a “cover-up”, arguing that failing to release all documents concerning the Mandelson affair represented “an extremely serious” breach of trust.
The Deputy Chairman of the intelligence and security committee (ISC) in the House of Commons suggested that if the government refuses to release the documents in full this would undermine “parliamentary sovereignty”.
Wright noted that lawmakers voted in February to compel the government to disclose documents related to Mandelson’s appointment.
Even longtime Labour MP, Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the foreign affairs select committee, accused the government of putting “obstacles” in front of those seeking to “get to the truth”.
Conservative MP and former Brexit secretary, Sir David Davis, suggested that he would be willing to table a motion of contempt against the government if it fails to fully comply with the February order from parliament mandating the release of the Mandelson files.
Ironically, the measure was last deployed by Sir Keir Starmer when he served in opposition in 2018 to force the release of advice given to then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s post-Brexit deal with the European Union.
Jones denied that he was a party to a cover-up, saying that he would resign if he thought it was the case.
“When the government publishes the second tranche of documents, it will be clear from the published information the basis on which content has been redacted,” he claimed.