A summary of today's developments
MPs have agreed that ministers will have to share papers relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador. Originally the government wanted to retain the power to block the publication of certain papers relating to matters “prejudicial to UK national security or international relations”. Instead, after the government altered plans following backbench pressure, the relevant documents will be referred to the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) in parliament.
Documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador will not be released today, Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward said. Ward did not confirm when the documents would be released but said it would be “as soon as possible”.
The Metropolitan police said it has asked No 10 not to release “certain documents” about Mandelson because it could “undermine” its investigation. However, the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said the Met has “no jurisdiction” over the Commons.
Earlier in PMQ’s, Keir Starmer confirmed that he knew, when appointing Mandelson US ambassador in December 2024, that he had remained friends with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction.
Peter Mandelson’s involvement with the US tech company Palantir must be exposed to full public transparency, campaigners have said, amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information than is alleged in his emails to Jeffrey Epstein. Palantir, an $300bn startup that provides military technology to the Israel Defense Forces and AI-powered deportation targeting for Donald Trump’s ICE units, has UK government contracts worth more than £500m. Global Counsel, a lobbying company Mandelson co-founded and part-owns, also works for Palantir. The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, is being urged to release information about Mandelson’s role when the British embassy arranged for Keir Starmer to visit Palantir’s showroom in Washington DC in February 2025 shortly after Mandelson became ambassador to the US.
Peter Mandelson’s involvement with the US tech company Palantir must be exposed to full public transparency, campaigners have said, amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information than is alleged in his emails to Jeffrey Epstein, write Robert Booth and Dan Sabbagh.
Palantir, an $300bn startup that provides military technology to the Israel Defense Forces and AI-powered deportation targeting for Donald Trump’s ICE units, has UK government contracts worth more than £500m. Global Counsel, a lobbying company Mandelson co-founded and part-owns, also works for Palantir.
The cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, is being urged to release information about Mandelson’s role when the British embassy arranged for Keir Starmer to visit Palantir’s showroom in Washington DC in February 2025 shortly after Mandelson became ambassador to the US.
Mandelson and Starmer met the company’s chief executive Alex Karp and were shown the company’s military technology. Karp signed a strategic partnership with the UK defence secretary, John Healey, seven months later and in January the Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a £241m three-year contract with Palantir to “boost military AI and innovation”.
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