Released Mandelson messages 'embarrassing', says minister, but defends government record

Messages from inside government, revealing criticism of Keir Starmer and his team, are "embarrassing", a minister tells the BBC Documents about Lord Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US were published on Monday - including 340 emails and dozens of texts In messages to minister Pat McFadden in July 2025, Mandelson said Starmer's team was "beleaguered and bereft" Earlier that year, McFadden wrote to Mandelson that "Every meeting I have is 'who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others'" This morning, Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds says he's "not hiding" from the fact the messages are embarrassing - but defends the record of both McFadden, and Starmer's government Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said messages revealed in yesterday's Mandelson files are "embarrassing", but the revelations show how determined the government is to comply with the humble address demanding their release. Hundreds of pages of texts and emails between Lord Mandelson and key government figures about his time as US ambassador were released yesterday. The peer, who was sacked from the post after details emerged about the depth of his relationship with paedophile Je