He also said the Government would ‘never regret’ appointing him as the UK’s ambassador to the US, in a note to former foreign secretary David Lammy.
Lord Peter Mandelson criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and said No 10 needed a “complete revamp” in messages released among thousands of documents related to his posting as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
He also said the Government would “never regret” appointing him, in a note to former foreign secretary David Lammy.
The second tranche of documents relating to Prime Minister Sir Keir’s decision to give the prestigious Washington job to Lord Mandelson rather than a career diplomat was released by the Government on Monday afternoon.
The files include thousands of previously private WhatsApp messages exchanged between figures at the top of Government.
In a message to Cabinet minister Pat McFadden in July 2025, Lord Mandelson said: “I went in to No10 after I saw you. It is beleaguered and bereft. It requires complete revamp and infusion of purpose and confidence to get anywhere.”
He also said Sir Keir “lacks verve” and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could not explain where economic growth would come from.
“It stems from the top and Keir lacks verve as does the Cabinet as a whole. People’s heads are broadly in the right place but you need more people who can execute,” he said in messages to Mr McFadden after local election setbacks for Labour in May 2025.
Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson in September that year after growing pressure to remove him from office following leaked emails which showed the peer sent supportive messages even as Jeffrey Epstein faced jail for sex offences.
MPs voted earlier this year to force the disclosure of documents relating to his time as ambassador.
Some documents were withheld to avoid prejudicing a police investigation, the Government said, adding that “targeted redactions” have been made to those that were published to prevent “real world harms”.
Lord Mandelson apparently “declined to comply” with a request to hand over his personal phone and allow the Government to publish WhatsApp messages and other information related to his appointment.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the Government does not have the power to compel disclosure from “third parties outside of our employment”, as he answered questions in the Commons about the files.
Ahead of their publication, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman described the sweeping whole-of-Government effort to publish the documents as an “unprecedented piece of Government transparency”.
The papers also gave an insight into the appointment process, including discussion of his security vetting.
Emails suggest that Cabinet Office officials initially believed that as a peer he would not require developed vetting, but that he would require Strap clearance.
But an official from the Foreign Office then said in December 2024 that developed vetting would be required as the policy exempting peers and MPs “had not envisaged the unusual situation of MPs/Lords being appointed to ambassadorial positions”.
The files also showed that Lord Mandelson asked UK Security Vetting if he should tell them about “literally every foreign national I have ever met”.
In an exchange with an unnamed case assistant, he said: “I have a large number of personal acquaintances with foreign nationals but I would not describe these as current friendships or personal business connections.”
The files also included a note to Mr Lammy about the potential ambassador posting in November 2024, which Lord Mandelson appears to have written as he waited to hear whether he would be made the next chancellor of Oxford University.
In the letter, written in blue pen on notepaper headed with Lord Mandelson’s name and a House of Lords seal, he said he wanted to “drop you a line, personally, about Washington”.
“Thankfully, the media speculation has gone away and I hope this was not too irritating to you. I just wanted you to know that if you were minded to appoint me I would make sure you never regret it.”
Navigating Britain’s interests “through the Trump administration will require super-human skills and luck and a massive team effort”, he said, adding: “For me it would be the last thing I do in public life and it would be a huge honour to serve you and the Government in this role. So if you are up for it, so am I.”
Elsewhere, he said the Government “doesn’t do policy, generally speaking, well enough”, in a message to pensions minister Torsten Bell in July 2025.
Mr Bell told him: “That is definitely true – everyone seems to think it’s someone else’s job to get the policy right… Which is very odd.”
Lord Mandelson replied: “As the saying goes, rubbish in rubbish out…”
And the former Labour peer said former transport secretary Louise Haigh’s exit from government was “harsh” after she quit over a fraud offence.
In a message to her on November 29 2024, he said: “Lou, I am very sorry about this. You have been brave and loyal in your decision but it seems harsh given you were appointed in full knowledge.
“But you have acted in a way that enables you to come back later and everything you say and do now should be done with that in mind. Strong and honourable.”
Lord Mandelson was twice forced to quit government posts during the New Labour era.
The three volumes of documents, in a release totalling 1,504 pages, cover subjects ranging from discussions around a trade deal with the US to Lord Mandelson’s persistent lobbying of senior Labour MPs for support for the Oxford University job.
They also show Lord Mandelson seeking to facilitate meetings between ministers and his friends and contacts – including suggesting that Sir Keir should have a “chat” with Tory former prime minister Sir John Major after the 2024 Labour landslide.
Sir Keir replied: “I’ll reach out to John M, he’s a very thoughtful man.”
MPs will have the opportunity to debate the second tranche of files on Wednesday.
