More than 1,500 pages of documents were published by the government on Monday afternoon about Peter Mandelson\u2019s appointment as the ambassador in Washington. Despite claims this was \u201can unprecedented piece of government transparency\u201d, there are still a number of significant missing documents.<\/p>\n
Some of the documents have been withheld by the government at the request of the Metropolitan police, if they could \u201cpotentially prejudice\u201d an ongoing investigation. According to Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, these documents will be published as part of a third tranche at the conclusion of an investigation or when no longer prejudicial.<\/p>\n
But after hours of testimony by top officials involved in Mandelson\u2019s appointment, there is a clear picture of the documents that are missing.<\/p>\n
1. The vetting summary document<\/p>\n
A nine-page summary document produced by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), giving an outline of the areas of concern that contributed towards security officials concluding that Mandelson should not be given \u201cdeveloped vetting\u201d security clearance, does not appear in the second tranche.<\/p>\n
The UKSV document contained concerns about Mandelson\u2019s links to China\u2019s minister of finance, Lan Fo\u2019an, the sanctions-hit Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and a former Israeli military intelligence general, Tamir Hayman, sources have told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
UKSV also said Mandelson had a very close relationship with a fourth individual, who is British, that could be compromising. A separate concern recorded by UKSV, the sources said, was a \u00a31m loan Mandelson received to invest in an Israeli startup. UKSV noted additionally, the sources added, that he appeared naive about the risk that historical relationships with other individuals could be exploited.<\/p>\n
According to Jones, it has been withheld on the advice of the Met.<\/p>\n
2. The security chief\u2019s note<\/p>\n
After Mandelson was withdrawn from Washington in September 2025, the Foreign Office\u2019s (FCDO) security team requested access to some of the UKSV documents. According to the department\u2019s security chief, Ian Collard, he took a note of the summary document. Collard said that note was submitted to the public disclosure process. But there is no trace of it, or of its claim that UKSV concluded Mandelson was a \u201cvery borderline case\u201d.<\/p>\n