Personal text messages between Lord Mandelson, Sir Keir Starmer and the Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary Darren Jones may have been withheld from Parliament, sources familiar with the matter have told GB News.
It is claimed that some personal phone messages sent to Lord Mandelson from both Sir Keir and Mr Jones were not included in today’s damning dossier.
Meanwhile, the disgraced former UK Ambassador to the US is apparently not prepared to release anything after the New Labour grandee received legal advice not to do so while Scotland Yard’s criminal investigation remains ongoing.
However, the claim was denied by Downing Street sources.
“Nothing is being withheld on the messages,” one No10 insider told GB News.
A No10 spokesman added: “In the same way as other ministers, the PM has fully complied with the Humble Address by providing all the information he holds as required.”
“The information submitted has been published by the Cabinet Office.”
Mr Jones also offered an alternative explanation as to why his messages were not included in the 598-page report.
The Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary said that his messages to Lord Mandelson had not been included because he had been using the disappearing messages function on WhatsApp.
He told MPs: “I do recall having some limited exchanges with Peter Mandelson over WhatsApp, including those I’ve already discussed in the media.
“But these conversations did not involve transacting Government business, and were in line with official guidance on the use of non-corporate communications channels at the time.”
It is understood that Lord Mandelson has virtually no messages on his personal mobile phone.
Everything was said to have been conducted on his official phone during his short-lived stint as the UK’s Ambassador to the US.
However, the decision not to include messages from the Prime Minister sparked concern from Labour’s political rivals.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, told GB News: “The public were promised transparency by this Government, yet key messages appear to be missing.
“If WhatsApp exchanges that reportedly took place between Keir Starmer and Peter Mandelson have been withheld, Labour must urgently explain why, otherwise the stench of a cover-up will only grow.
“The only reason we have had today’s disclosures at all is because of the relentless pressure of Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives.”
Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson also said: “The Prime Minister may have serious questions to answer, but until we see the files, we will never know.
“This stinks of a cover-up, and the public will not forgive Labour.”
However, Tory sources specifically pointed out that Mr Jones’s remarks did not centre around Lord Mandelson’s refusal to hand over his private home.
Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds’s early messages with Lord Mandelson were not available following a second phone theft in October 2025.
Morgan McSweeney, who served as Sir Keir’s chief of staff from October 2024 to February 2026, also had his personal device snatched during a late-night incident just days later.
The second tranche of messages revealed Work & Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden had messaged Lord Mandelson to ask: “Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?”
In an exchange with then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Lord Mandelson also stressed Sir Keir would “never regret” appointing him as the UK’s Ambassador to the US.
