Keir Starmer and the Cabinet are on high alert for more damaging leaks of their ‘missing’ messages to Peter Mandelson.
The furore has been reignited after the emergence of embarrassing WhatsApps from Darren Jones – which were not included in a huge data dump earlier this week.
The PM’s right-hand man previously told MPs he had exchanged messages with the New Labour architect but he no longer had the records.
However, some have now been leaked to the Spectator magazine – with Labour insiders suggesting Mandelson is the only person who had access to the material.
The disgraced peer refused to hand over his phone to the Cabinet Office for the disclosure process.
One WhatsApp from Mr Jones was on September 11 last year, the day Mandelson was effectively sacked following new information about his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Cabinet minister told him: ‘You’ve been doing such a great job, and you worked wonders with Trump. I’m so sorry about today.’
Darren Jones previously told MPs he had exchanged messages with the New Labour architect but he no longer had the records
Mr Jones and Labour insiders have suggested Mandelson is the only person who had access to the material
After Mandelson met with Rachel Reeves, he messaged Mr Jones to note that the Government’s growth plans were in the hands of Rachel Reeves, then-deputy PM Angela Rayner and the then-business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Mr Jones, who was Ms Reeves’s deputy at the Treasury at the time, replied: ‘It doesn’t fill you with confidence.’
In another, he criticised members of Mr Reynolds’s team over negotiations regarding the Port Talbot steel works, saying some were taking positions ‘because that’s what the unions want’.
In a further discussion with Lord Mandelson about an expected reshuffle, Mr Jones said he was targeting Mr Reynolds’s job, adding: ‘Everyone fond of Jonny but perception that DBT (Department of Business and Trade) not firing on full cylinders.’
The messages were not contained in the Mandelson files released to Parliament this week – a concession forced by a Labour revolt that almost ousted Sir Keir in February.
It is understood they were not struck out by the Intelligence and Security Committee’s process of redacting sensitive information.
Mr Jones is one of a number of senior figures, alongside Sir Keir and Ms Reeves, who use WhatsApp’s disappearing messages function on their phones.
Sir Keir’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, has said he lost access to some messages when his phone was stolen.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has also said his phone was stolen last year.
At least one previously reported message from Sir Keir to Mandelson saying he would be a ‘brilliant’ envoy did not appear in the disclosure.
The only significant exchange involving Sir Keir was from July 17, 2024, when Mandelson wrote: ‘I was at a dinner with John Major this evening and if you don’t know him I think good idea to invite him for a chat.
‘As well as being a very nice person, he is interesting and thoughtful. Just a thought. No need to reply.’
Responding on July 25, 2024, Sir Keir said: ‘Thanks Peter. It’s so good to be getting on with the job of governing.
‘A million times better than opposition – you know that!’
During a Commons debate on the data dump last night, as rumours over his messages swirled, Mr Jones said that the ‘only other person’ who could release his messages was Mandelson.
‘There was no decision to disregard any messages because there are no messages to consider,’ Mr Jones said.
‘What I confirmed on Monday was that I have had WhatsApp exchanges with Peter Mandelson, but I have not saved them on my devices to be able to share with my principal private secretary.
‘The only person who could release those messages, if they have them, would be Peter Mandelson, who has refused to disclose his phone to the process.’
One Government aide said ministers who thought they had escaped without their Mandelson messages emerging needed to be ready for an ‘unpleasant surprise’.
Allies of Sir Keir have been privately voicing fears that the problems are far from over.
One senior Labour source told the Daily Mail of the leaks: ‘It looks like scorched earth, the nuclear option.’
Allies of Sir Keir have been privately voicing fears that the problems are far from over
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden saw his messages exposed in the official document dump, including a complaint that Labour MPs just wanted him to find people to tax so they could hand out more benefits
Touring broadcast studios for the Government this morning, Treasury Chief Secretary Lucy Rigby said she ‘wouldn’t have used those words’ when asked about Mr Jones’ messages to Mandelson.
Asked about the criticism of Ms Reeves, Mr Reynolds and Ms Rayner, she told Times Radio: ‘There is an extent to which, and I think we all do need to bear this in mind, frankly, who hasn’t come out of a work meeting at some point and sent a message to a colleague or a family member or whatever, sort of, you know, letting off steam, letting off a bit of frustration.
‘You know, you may well choose to exaggerate, or whatever, for effect. You know, we’ve all done that, frankly. I don’t think it’s necessarily right to over-index on some of these messages.’
