THE SNP are stepping up pressure on Labour MP Douglas Alexander to quit as Scottish Secretary after files showed Peter Mandelson introduced him to a lobbying firm he set up with links to Russia and China.
Papers released earlier this week showed that Mandelson, who was sacked as UK ambassador to the US last year over his links with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, introduced Alexander to contacts in the Global Counsel lobbying firm he co-founded in 2010. Mandelson resigned from its board in 2024, but continued to own shares.
An email sent when Alexander was a trade minister in the UK Government showed him thanking Mandelson for the introduction.
It also emerged that Alexander's first meeting as trade minister was with Global Counsel, in the form of an online call. The BBC reports that this meeting was only added to public transparency logs earlier this year.
Alexander and Mandelson exchanged messages on July 22, with the disgraced peer writing an email introduction putting Alexander in touch with someone from Global Counsel. A week later, on July 31, the meeting was held.
SNP MSP Alex Kerr said that the former ambassador was “putting Douglas Alexander in a room with unknown individuals” – calling on the Scottish Secretary to make public “exactly who he met with and exactly what was discussed”.
His concern comes after reports that Global Counsel had sought work with companies linked to both the Russian and Chinese governments, including the Russian state investment firm Rusnano and the state-owned China International Capital Corporation.
Kerr said that this now raised concerns over whether “national security has been threatened by meetings at the instruction of Peter Mandelson”.
The SNP MSP said: “The public will be extremely concerned about who, at the behest of the disgraced Lord Mandelson, Douglas Alexander was spending his time with.”
He added: “During Peter Mandelson’s vetting process, a significant number of red flags were raised by the security services about his relationship with a number of his clients from China and Russia.
“Now we know he was putting Douglas Alexander in a room with unknown individuals – Alexander must now explicitly tell the public exactly who he met with and exactly what was discussed.”
Kerr claimed: “Douglas Alexander was a mere puppet for his master Mandelson and these shadowy redactions just make this sinister affair all the more despicable.
“Douglas Alexander must resign and the public must be given full disclosure on whether our national security has been threatened by meetings at the instruction of Peter Mandelson.”
The SNP also called out Alexander over his "gushing" WhatsApp messages to Mandelson that showed him crediting the former US ambassador with helping him get selected as a Labour Party candidate in the 2024 General Election.
Ahead of the 2024 General Election, on June 30, 2024 Alexander asked Mandelson for his view on the upcoming election noting that there was “very [sic] little enthusiasm for Labour but a quiet determination to secure change which is our greatest ally”.
On July 7, three days after the election, and following his appointment as a trade minister, Alexander wrote to Mandelson saying: "You probably don't realise quite how influential you've been in this whole improbable journey.
"From your initial encouragement two years ago this month 'Douglas… you're going to have to become all Laboury again!' to your quiet and effective support when Gordon came out for [redacted] in the selection… I won't forget any of it.
"And yes, of course I would value your counsel on trade. Hope we can speak soon. In gratitude and appreciation, Douglas."
This adds to concerns that Mandelson was directly involved in the Scottish Labour Party's selection contests, with previous concerns being raised about other Labour MPs including Morgan McSweeney's wife Imogen Walker.
