No 10 cannot block release of Mandelson documents, officials say

Lord Mandelson was arrested and later bailed on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Credit: PA

No 10 will be unable to block the publication of documents relating to Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the US, with Parliament’s security watchdog having the final say.

The decision follows a parliamentary order for the government to release a huge quantity of documents relating to the 2024 appointment of Mandelson.

The government has come under fire over what was known, and when, about Mandelson's links to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Questions have also been raised about the peer's vetting process.

In a statement on Thursday, Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said officials had confirmed “in writing” that it would have the final say on which papers would be released.

Keir Starmer has faced questions over what he knew about Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein when he appointed him US ambassador. Credit: PA

Some of the thousands of documents are expected to be withheld for national security or foreign relations reasons, but it will be up to the ISC, rather than ministers, to determine which items should be redacted.

The ISC statement added: "The Prime Minister – or anyone else in Government – will not be able to overrule the Committee’s decision to publish material that has been referred to it.”

Control over which files to withhold was given to the parliamentary committee after a Downing Street climbdown in the face of a Labour backlash against initial plans for the Cabinet Secretary to make the judgment.

The first tranche of documents is unlikely to be published next week, and more likely in the following week, it is understood.

They are expected to include messages between ministers and senior officials that have the potential to prove embarrassing for the government and even raise tensions with Donald Trump’s White House.

ISC chairman Lord Beamish has previously said that “embarrassment isn’t a reason for withholding information”.

The government has also agreed a framework with the Metropolitan Police on which documents can be released without prejudicing the ongoing police investigation, according to the ISC.

Lord Mandelson was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having been accused of passing sensitive information on to Epstein during his time as business secretary. He has been bailed until May.

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are proceeding at pace to publish the first tranche of documents in early March.

“We are working closely with the ISC and have made progress on a number of their requests.

“The Government is very grateful to the committee for their work and commits to full engagement with them to ensure these processes are timely and effective.”

From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below...