Revealed: Darren Jones’s Disappearing WhatsApp Chats with Peter Mandelson

Private exchanges between senior minister Darren Jones and Lord Peter Mandelson, in which the pair disparaged Jones’s cabinet peers, have been made public. These communications were anticipated to be included in a recent release of Mandelson’s files, issued earlier this week following the parliamentary vote to disclose records regarding the controversial appointment of the disgraced peer as UK ambassador to the United States. Lord Mandelson was subsequently dismissed from the ambassadorship after the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile financier, became evident.

Although the 1,500-page document batch released on Monday omitted these specific conversations, The Spectator has now published excerpts. The messages include Jones offering praise to Mandelson following his sacking and exploring potential career advancement opportunities within the government. On the day Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer removed Mandelson from his post, Jones sent a message expressing regret: "You've been doing such a great job, and you worked wonders with Trump. I'm so sorry about today."

The correspondence also reveals Mandelson’s skepticism regarding the government’s economic growth strategy. He informed Jones that the plans were under the control of Chancellor Rachel Reeves, then-Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and then-Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. At the time, Jones served as Reeves’ deputy. He responded to Mandelson’s concerns by stating, "It doesn't fill you with confidence."

In another exchange concerning the industrial policy and special advisers appointed by Reynolds, Jones expressed dissatisfaction with their alignment with the Treasury. "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 wrote.

Jones also sought Mandelson’s counsel regarding his own career progression during last year’s cabinet reshuffle, which was triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation from her roles as deputy prime minister and housing secretary amid a dispute over unpaid stamp duty. Jones outlined his career aspirations, noting a first preference for the Department for Business and Trade, which was then led by Reynolds but is now headed by Peter Kyle. His second choices were the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, led at the time by Kyle and now by Liz Kendall, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which has been led by Ed Miliband both before and after the reshuffle. Jones added, "I also like MoD but think that's unlikely."

He explained to Mandelson that his reluctance to seek the Ministry of Defence role stemmed from his approval of Defence Secretary John Healey’s performance, whereas he had doubts about Reynolds. "DBT my preference – everyone fond of Jonny but perception that DBT not firing on full cylinders…", Jones wrote. Ultimately, Reynolds was moved to the position of chief whip, while Jones secured the role of Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.

Addressing the absence of these messages during a House of Commons debate on Wednesday, Jones stated that he had utilized WhatsApp’s "disappearing messages" feature, a practice permitted under current ministerial guidelines. He explained that certain communications might not have been preserved because users may have switched devices without backing up data or because they had activated the disappearing feature. Jones confirmed that this applied to his own account as well.

Responding to questions from the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, Jones clarified that he had not made unilateral judgments on which messages fell within the scope of the Humble Address. "It is merely that I have access to no messages to disclose," he said.

During the same debate, Jones acknowledged that he may have inadvertently granted Mandelson excessive leniency and issued an apology, including to Epstein victim Lisa Phillips. He denied having deliberately overlooked negative reports about the Labour veteran or receiving any prior warnings about him.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-04 08:46:33 UTC