Jones Praises Mandelson After Ambassadorial Dismissal
Senior minister Darren Jones expressed to Peter Mandelson that he had done a "great job" following the peer's dismissal as the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States, newly revealed messages indicate.
The previously unpublished WhatsApp exchanges between Jones and Mandelson reveal that Jones conveyed his sympathy on the day Mandelson was removed from his post.
These messages, published by the Spectator, were not included in the earlier release of dozens of pages of WhatsApp communications published by the government in the latest batch of documents concerning the appointment.
Jones had previously denied sending Mandelson a "warm message" on the day of his dismissal during a BBC interview several weeks prior.
Lord Mandelson was appointed to the ambassadorial role in Washington in late 2024 but was dismissed the following autumn after further information emerged regarding his previous association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On the day Sir Keir Starmer dismissed Lord Mandelson, Jones wrote:
"You've been doing such a great job, and you worked wonders with Trump. I'm so sorry about today."
In an April interview with the BBC, Jones denied reports that he had sent a warm message to Mandelson after his departure.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Jones stated:
"The peer had got in touch with me on the day of his sacking to ask 'what was going on in Downing Street'. I replied along the lines of, I don't know what's happening, I'm not in the room, I'm sorry it all seems so difficult. I wouldn't say it was warm and I didn't know what was taking place. I just felt that it was difficult at the time for everybody involved."
A source close to Jones explained that he did not have access to the messages at the time of the interview and was recalling a broader exchange rather than a single message.
Discussion on Government Growth Plans and Ministerial Roles
The newly revealed messages also show Lord Mandelson criticizing the government's growth plans, indicating that responsibility lay with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, then-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, and then-business secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Jones, who was Reeves' deputy at the Treasury at that time and is now chief secretary to the prime minister, responded:
"It doesn't fill you with confidence."
In another exchange concerning Reynolds' special advisers and industrial policy advisers, Jones commented:
"I lost faith in his spads when, on a call about Port Talbot, they repeatedly took a different position to us in HMT [the Treasury] 'because that's what the unions want'."
Jones also sought Lord Mandelson's advice regarding promotion during the Cabinet reshuffle the previous year, which was triggered by Rayner's resignation as deputy prime minister and housing secretary over a tax dispute involving unpaid stamp duty.
Discussing his ambitions, Jones indicated his preference for a role in the Department for Business and Trade, then led by Reynolds but now headed by Peter Kyle.
He added that his next preferences were the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, then led by Kyle and now by Liz Kendall, or the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, led by Ed Miliband both before and after the reshuffle.
Jones further remarked:
"I also like MoD but think that's unlikely."
He explained that this was because he believed defence secretary John Healey was performing well but suggested Reynolds might not be, stating:
"DBT my preference – everyone fond of Jonny but perception that DBT not firing on full cylinders…"
Following the reshuffle, Reynolds was moved to chief whip, and Jones secured the prominent position of Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.
Jones Addresses WhatsApp Messages and Apology
Responding to a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday regarding the Mandelson files, Jones informed MPs that he had activated the disappearing messages feature on WhatsApp, which is permitted under current ministerial guidelines.
He stated:
"Moving to the documents that Members may have expected to see in the second tranche, as I said on Monday, some messages may not have been captured where people may have previously changed their phones without having backed up their messages or where they had disappearing messages turned on, and I noted to the House on Monday that that included myself.
In my circumstance, to answer the questions from the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster [Alex Burghart], it is not that I took a unilateral decision about messages that I felt were in scope or not in scope of the Humble Address; it is merely that I have access to no messages to disclose."
During the debate, Jones also acknowledged that he may have given Lord Mandelson excessive leeway and issued an apology, including to Epstein victim Lisa Phillips.
He denied consciously ignoring negative reports about Lord Mandelson or receiving any warnings about the Labour veteran.
Jones reflected:
"Did I at best subconsciously treat Peter Mandelson differently because I believed him to have influence and power within the Labour party? I think the answer to that question is yes, I did. Have I benefited from that relationship in the time I have been an elected politician? I think in part the answer to that question is yes, I did.
For that I would like to apologise to the House, to the victims, to Lisa, and commit to then doing something about it."
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