Met Police reviewing CCTV in review of Morgan McSweeney phone theft
The Metropolitan Police are reviewing CCTV from the day Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff had his phone stolen, according to reports.
The loss of ex-top aide Morgan McSweeney’s phone means that important messages relating to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador will not be placed in the public domain.
It comes after MPs moved in February to force the publication of tens of thousands of documents with the aim of uncovering how much was known about Lord Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein before the peer was handed the Washington job.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is among the opposition politicians who have sought to suggest the phone theft is “fishy”.
But Sir Keir said it is “far-fetched” to say there was any link between the Mandelson files and the phone theft, which took place in October, months before the Commons vote that triggered the collection and release of the documents.
According to The Times, the Met are now reviewing CCTV from Pimlico, the area of central London where the theft of Mr McSweeney’s phone took place, in order to establish the facts of the case.
Mr McSweeney could also be asked for further clarification as part of the review, the newspaper said.
Police took the unusual step of releasing a transcript of Mr McSweeney’s 999 call reporting the phone theft.
The Met wrongly recorded the theft as having taken place in east London rather than Westminster after Mr McSweeney wrongly gave his location as Belgrave Street rather than Belgrave Road during the October 20 call.
Elsewhere, Lord Mandelson will be asked to supply messages from his personal phone as part of the disclosure of files related to his appointment as US ambassador.
The Cabinet Office is working on an information-gathering plan and will ask the ex-Labour grandee to provide everything he holds in scope of the humble address used to compel the release of correspondence, according to Government sources.
Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role in September last year over his links with Epstein, who died in 2019.
The first tranche of documents related to the decision was published earlier this month after a demand for transparency by MPs, with more to follow.
Mr McSweeney quit Downing Street last month, with many blaming him for pushing Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
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It is fishy, but Kemi, your old boss lost all his data in a remarkable set of circumstances, and a few other Cons had remarkable data losses as well when it was required at inquiries. Nothing from you then.