Keir Starmer breaks silence over ‘Mandelson cowl up’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has mentioned it’s “a little bit far-fetched” to counsel the theft of his former chief of workers Morgan McSweeney’s telephone was linked to the discharge of recordsdata regarding Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US.

There are issues that exchanges concerning Lord Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US might be misplaced following the theft of his cell phone in London in October 2025.

Speaking to broadcasters in Helsinki, the Prime Minister insisted the telephone had been stolen and disregarded options the declare was an try to obfuscate.

He mentioned: “The phone was stolen. It was reported to the police. There’s a transcript of the call in which Morgan McSweeney gives his name, his date of birth, the details of the phone, and the police confirm that it was reported.

“Unfortunately, there are thefts like this. It was stolen. It was reported on the time, the police have acknowledged and confirmed that. That is what occurred.”

He added: “The concept that someway everyone might have seen that someday sooner or later there’d be a request over the telephone is, to my thoughts, slightly bit far-fetched.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s official spokesman contested the official narrative on Mr McSweeney’s stolen phone.

“I feel she has undoubtedly raised an eyebrow during the last 24 hours,” he said, when asked about Mrs Badenoch’s reaction to the claims it had been stolen.

“From the very outset of the Mandelson affair, the Prime Minister’s first intuition has been to obfuscate and canopy up.”

The spokesman would not go as far as to suggest Mr McSweeney was lying about his phone being stolen, but said: “I feel what Kemi would say is, it is very lucky timing.”

Later, Mrs Badenoch said Mr McSweeney should give evidence to Parliament about the theft, saying there were “too many unanswered questions”.

She said: “If No 10 are incapable of recovering these messages, it is just proper that Morgan McSweeney testifies in Parliament and explains precisely what occurred and why Keir Starmer signed off on Peter Mandelson’s appointment regardless of the warnings.”