A cell phone belonging to Morgan McSweeney, former Chief of Staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was allegedly stolen last year, raising fears that critical communications related to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the U.S. were lost. The incident has prompted accusations of a cover-up after British police reportedly dismissed the theft as being “too busy” to investigate.
The device had been used to communicate with Mandelson—a prominent Labour figure with well-documented ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein—during his brief tenure as Starmer’s ambassador. Mandelson resigned from his post in 2025 following heightened scrutiny of his Epstein connections, which were already public by that time.
McSweeney, who stepped down on February 8, accepted full responsibility for the appointment, stating: “The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country, and trust in politics itself.”
Parliament recently approved a motion requiring Starmer’s government to disclose all communications related to Mandelson’s appointment, including messages between McSweeney and Mandelson. However, because the phone was reportedly stolen months before this motion passed, questions have arisen about whether the full set of communications can be released.
Shadow Cabinet minister Alex Burghart criticized the situation, saying: “We had to drag the Mandelson files out of Keir Starmer, and now we find the phone of his former Chief of Staff and protege of Mandelson won’t be part of the disclosure. The whole thing stinks of a cover-up.”
Despite the missing phone, some exchanges between McSweeney and Mandelson have been recovered and will be included in upcoming document releases. A government spokesman confirmed officials are cooperating with the Metropolitan Police investigation into the theft.
Mandelson was arrested in February on suspicion of passing confidential information to Epstein while serving under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The first set of documents, released on March 11, showed officials had been warned about Mandelson’s Epstein links and raised alarms over the rushed appointment. The next batch is expected after Easter.
