Senior minister defends decision to withhold some Mandelson files

A senior minister has defended the government’s decision to withhold information relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador from a powerful parliamentary committee.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told the Commons on Tuesday there were good reasons not to disclose certain information, adding that the next tranche of documents would not be published until next month.

The intelligence and security committee (ISC), which is overseeing the process of releasing the documents, published a statement on Friday accusing the government of redacting and withholding documents against the wishes of parliament.

However, Jones said on Tuesday that ministers were within their rights to do so, as the scandal surrounding the appointment continues to dog the government.

The minister told MPs: “I am sure members across the house will recognise there is no public interest in the government publishing the names and contact details of junior officials or their telephone numbers.

He added: “The raw data that is collected as part of those investigations – which, for example, might relate to how much money you have in a particular account or who you may have had a personal relationship with in the past – that raw data would never be published because if we did so, people would feel unable to answer those questions honestly and frankly in any UK security vetting investigation in the future, which would undermine the very basis of our national security system.”

He said the next set of documents, which are understood to run to thousands of pages, would not be published until June. And he refused to confirm that they would be released before the crucial Makerfield byelection likely to be on 18 June.

After weeks of criticism over the Mandelson appointment, MPs voted earlier this year to force the government to publish all documents related to that decision, albeit with redactions for national security and international relations. Under pressure from MPs on all sides, the government accepted those redactions should be agreed by the ISC.

But the committee’s unusually critical statement on Friday accused ministers of not complying with the terms of that vote.

Members highlighted ministers’ decisions to redact personal information such as email addresses and phone numbers, as well as to withhold Mandelson’s entire vetting file, including the responses he gave in interviews with vetting officials.