Labour ministers have been accused of attempting to withhold messages with Lord Peter Mandelson from Parliament.
Following the Conservative’s’ Humble Address back in February, Government officials of all levels, from ministers to mandarins, were required to give up their private correspondence with the New Labour titan.
But, when top politicians were approached to disclose the information, it was said ministers were hesitant to relinquish their grasp on the texts.
After ministers allegedly refused to hand over the messages, the Cabinet Office is said to have been forced to ask twice for the communications, insider sources told The Telegraph.
First, they were asked for messages only about ministerial work, while personal texts were not requested.
Civil servants were reportedly left disgruntled after allegedly receiving zero responses from several frontbenchers who have known relationships with the former ambassador.
However, the sources accused the uncomplying ministers of withholding the messages because they were “embarrassed” to divulge their relationship with Lord Mandelson.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel hit out at the revelation, accusing Labour’s top brass of “trying to cover up the truth about their relationships with, and the influence of, Peter Mandelson on this Government”.
The second batch of files on the peer is expected to be released next week
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PAShe dded: “Parliament voted for the release of every document in the Mandelson files, but at every stage Keir Starmer, his ministers and Labour MPs have tried to stop the public scrutiny of Mandelson’s appointment and hide the facts.
“This Labour Government cannot be trusted.
“It has repeatedly handed jobs to disreputable political friends and put our national security at risk by appointing Mandelson, the best friend of a notorious paedophile with links to Russia and China.”
Yesterday, it was revealed Lord Mandelson’s ties to China, Russia and Israel were among some of the concerns raised by the UK’s vetting agency.
Lord Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing
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Lord Mandelson has maintained his denial of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, a Government spokesman said: “We are committed to complying with the Humble Address in full.”
Britain’s top security services confirmed the peer’s appointment to the high-flying job should have not been approved due to his association with a number of officials across the globe.
The peer was revealed to have been acquainted with China’s finance minister Lan Fo’an, as well as the sanction-laden Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Lord Mandelson is also said to have been associated with Israeli military intelligence general, Tamir Hayman.
Explicit material detailing the “mostly unsolicited” advice is expected to be unveiled when the second batch of documents is released, which is suspected to be next week.
According to The Telegraph, sources have ceded Lord Mandelson was not normally approached by Sir Keir’s top team – but shared his two cents’ nonetheless.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Ministers and former Ministers have replied to requests made under the Humble Address process.”
It is understood that the department will not comment on the specifics of the process and will not pre-empt information provided before MPs in the Commons.