Morgan McSweeney failed to tell police he worked as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff when he reported that his phone, suspected to contain private messages with Peter Mandelson, had been stolen.
The revelation comes as the Metropolitan Police took the unusual step of releasing a transcript of the 999 call after concerns that key exchanges regarding Lord Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US have been lost at a time when the government has been instructed by parliament to release all its records and messages on the decision.
Labour MP Karl Turner has blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff over the alleged theft, saying: “The dog ate my homework defence won’t wash. Will it? We came to office promising change.”
The Metropolitan Police said they would reassess the investigation into the theft after admitting officers recorded the wrong address when he reported the crime.
The force stressed that officers and staff were unaware of the caller’s profession or the sensitive nature of the material potentially stored on the device at the time of the report.
Now, it has been revealed that while Mr McSweeney provided his name, a personal email address, and a home address outside London, he did not give his job title or say that he worked at No 10. He informed the operator that the device was a "government phone" and that he had contacted his office to initiate tracking, but did not say that it contained top-level government material. He also mistakenly gave the location as Belgrave Street, which is in Tower Hamlets, instead of Belgrave Road in Westminster.
This error, uncovered during a media inquiry into the case, led officers to review incorrect CCTV footage and conclude there were no realistic lines of inquiry to pursue. The handling of the case is now under review.
The transcript includes the exchange:
“Call handler: Have you got a tracker on the phone at all?
“Caller: I do. It’s a Government phone.”
Later, the document says:
“Call handler: So what time did he actually snatch the phone?
“Caller: About two minutes before I rung you and I chased, and then I rang my office to get the phone tracked and then I rang you.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has insisted the loss of messages through the theft of Mr McSweeney’s phone was a “cock-up rather than conspiracy”.
Downing Street has been forced by MPs to release tens of thousands of documents amid questions over what was known about Lord Mandelson’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein before he was handed the Washington job.
Mr McSweeney quit Downing Street last month, with many having blamed him for pushing the appointment of Lord Mandelson.
The theft of the phone in October means that his messages with Lord Mandelson cannot be examined. But Mr Streeting on Wednesday said Mr McSweeney “couldn’t have known” the exchanges would later be needed for scrutiny.
The senior minister told Times Radio: “I can totally understand the cynicism in these sorts of cases, but do bear in mind that when his phone was stolen, it was reported to the police at the time.
“He couldn’t at that stage have known that Parliament would ask for the publication of all messages in the way that they have in quite an unprecedented way.
“Yes, sometimes in politics, things can be explained as a result of conspiracy. In other times, more often than not, it is a result of cock-up rather than conspiracy.”
Concerns have also been raised over the fact that Mr McSweeney’s phone was not backed up, despite government guidance being that senior officials must forward or screenshot messages onto an official system, and that they are responsible for protecting personal data from “accidental loss”.
Mr Streeting said: “I suspect that off the back of this, there will be a reiteration of the expectations on ministers, special advisers and officials so that people are clear on the rules and expectations. People will want to tighten up on those fronts, inevitably.”
The senior minister also said he used WhatsApp’s disappearing messages function, stressing that when he receives messages, he relays the information on to the Department of Health and Social Care.
He added: “We also publish transparency returns in terms of the meetings that we have, including meetings with journalists. There are standards of transparency and accountability. Those things matter.”
The Cabinet Office does have some of the messages between Mr McSweeney and Lord Mandelson, it is understood.
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. He has since been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over claims he leaked confidential government documents with the disgraced financier when he was business secretary under Gordon Brown.
The first tranche of documents related to the peer’s appointment was published earlier this month, with more to follow.
Some material is expected to be withheld either because it relates to a police investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office, or because Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee believes it could jeopardise national security or diplomatic relations.
