Mandelson files show no mitigation of security concerns over US appointment

The Guardian also understands Mandelson was not asked to put any steps in place himself to allay such concerns. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters View image in fullscreen The Guardian also understands Mandelson was not asked to put any steps in place himself to allay such concerns. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Mandelson files show no mitigation of security concerns over US appointment Exclusive: Papers to be published on Monday cast doubt on assurances provided by senior Whitehall officials Embarrassing WhatsApps, but no vetting report: what will be in the new release of Mandelson files? A trove of government documents about Peter Mandelson contains no record of any measures taken to mitigate serious security concerns over his appointment as Washington ambassador, the Guardian has learned. Multiple sources who have seen or been briefed on the files, which will be published on Monday, say there is no detail about any steps put in place to deal with flags raised about his associations with senior figures in foreign states. The Guardian also understands Mandelson was not asked to take any steps himself to allay such concerns. The omissions cast doubt on assurances provided by senior Whitehall officials to MPs on the foreign affairs select committee. A fuller picture will emerge on Monday when the government publishes more than 1,000 pages of information relating to Mandelson’s appointment, which has proved to be one of the most momentous decisions by Keir Starmer in his time as prime minister. One source who has been briefed on the contents of the documents said: “The big question I would be asking is why there is no written record of what mitigations were put in place. We’ve been told they were there, but why is there no document showing he accepted them?” Multiple sources said that while Mandelson had been asked to provide assurances over potential commercial conflicts of interest, there was no record indicating that the same was true about matters of national security. The Guardian revealed last week that the former peer’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the red flags raised by the UK’s vetting agency when it concluded he should be denied clearance . The document release on Monday sets up another difficult week for Starmer, after Tony Blair’s coruscating essay last Tuesday, arguing the government had abandoned the centre ground and was putting Labour’s future at risk. It forms the next stage in the government’s response to a “humble address” passed by parliament, forcing ministers to publish documents that otherwise would have remained highly confidential. Ministers are braced for the release of a series of embarrassing exchanges with Mandelson from his time in Washington, including criticism of Keir Starmer, which could further undermine the prime minister’s authority as many of his MPs are calling openly for his resignation. Senior government insiders said they expected awkward WhatsApp messages from