Health Secretary James Murray has admitted that he had exchanged messages with Peter Mandelson, ahead of the publication of the latest tranche of files relating to Mandelson’s appointment to the US as ambassador.
Asked if the release would be a distraction for the government, Murray told GB News: “Well, I’m not personally concerned about that, but it is important that we get these messages out in the public. People expect transparency over what’s happened.
“As a government, we committed to putting out all of the information required by the humble address, which was the vote in Parliament to agree that this information was going to be published. So it’s really important that we’re doing that.
“There’s going to be an unprecedented amount of information put in the public domain, and you know it’s worth me just emphasising that we are very clear that the appointment of Lord Mandelson was wrong, it was a mistake, and Keir Starmer couldn’t be clearer about that, that he regrets that decision appointing Lord Mandelson.
“That was a mistake, but it’s important now that we follow full transparency and publish this information.”
He added: “There were reasons at the time, and there were a number of commentators, a number of opposition politicians who said it was a good idea to appoint Mandelson, but Keir and all of us fully accept that it was the wrong decision.
“I think the strength that Keir Starmer has shown is to say, look, we took that decision, he now acknowledges it was wrong and is clear about that, and I think people actually respect people for standing up in politics and saying when it is clear that that is the case, that a decision was the wrong one to take.”
Asked if he was concerned about messages he had sent Mandelson, Murray said: “I’m not concerned. There’s a couple of messages when he was standing for the…Chancellor of Oxford position, but that was
it.”
