One key reason, said three people with knowledge of the discussions (including one of those noted above), is that Downing Street wants to publish the vast majority of outstanding messages that MPs ordered for disclosure on Feb. 4 in one single batch, rather than in dribs and drabs.
Retrieval has also been ongoing, with some of the raw messages with Mandelson — specifically from WhatsApp groups — only extracted from people’s phones in recent days, a fifth person with knowledge of the process said.
The wait could add to the political difficulties facing Starmer, with headlines about Mandelson dragging out even longer.
The post-Easter timing raises the prospect that private remarks by Starmer’s own ministers will become public shortly before elections on May 7, which some MPs believe could determine his future as PM.
‘Reputational risk’
The release of U.K. government communications, which follows the disclosure of millions of documents related to the U.S. investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was set in motion after Labour MPs backed a call by the opposition Conservative Party to release several thousand pages of documents related to Mandelson and his appointment.
Mandelson was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to Washington last September over his past friendship with Epstein, but further revelations from the U.S. prompted a police investigation into his conduct, leading to his arrest in February.