McSweeney's missing Mandelson messages

The News Agents

Wednesday, 25 March 2026 - 46 minutes

The Met police took the unusual step of publishing a full transcript of a phone call that took place last October between Keir starmers chief of staff Morgan Mcsweeny and the 999 emergency services. In the call Morgan says his phone has been stolen out of his hand by a young man on a bike. He tells them it is a government device but doesn’t explain what his own role is or whether the material on it maybe confidential.

Why does any of this matter? Because the phone in question contained key messages between McSweeney and Peter Mandelson in the lead up to his appointment as ambassador to the United States.

Will we ever get to the truth of what happened between them? Will the public get past the “convenience“ of an apparently stolen phone? And were ministers sent out to fudge the truth on Morgan’s behalf as recently as this weekend?

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