Police are re-investigating the theft of a mobile phone belonging to Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer, and have indicated they will question Downing Street staff as part of the reopened inquiry.
Police investigation
The Metropolitan Police confirmed it launched a second investigation into the theft on March 27 this year, after reports revealed the device had been stolen. Officers want to establish whether Number 10 or the Cabinet Office still holds tracking data for the phone, which is believed to contain messages relating to the controversial appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States.
Scotland Yard will speak to civil servants as part of the renewed inquiry, which was triggered after the initial investigation was closed due to a lack of clear lines of inquiry and an incorrect address being recorded. The force later admitted the location had been wrongly noted as Belgrave Street in East London instead of Belgrave Road, Westminster, where the incident took place. Officers are now reviewing CCTV footage from the Pimlico area to establish the facts of the case.
The Metropolitan Police has previously been involved in other investigations concerning Downing Street, including the “Partygate” gatherings held during Covid-19 lockdowns. Separately, the force recently conducted a large-scale operation against phone theft, disrupting an international network suspected of smuggling stolen phones to China.
Details of the theft
Mr McSweeney was walking home from a London restaurant at around 10.30pm on 20 October last year when a balaclava-clad man on an e-bike snatched the phone from his hand as he was replying to messages. He reported the theft to the police in a 999 call, describing the device as a “government phone” but without explicitly stating that he was the prime minister’s chief of staff. Downing Street has confirmed that Mr McSweeney separately reported the loss to government security teams.
The former chief of staff lost the phone months before he resigned over the Mandelson appointment in February. He took “full responsibility” for advising Sir Keir to appoint Lord Mandelson, describing the decision as “wrong” and saying it had “damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself”. Mr McSweeney is widely regarded as a protégé of Lord Mandelson, and the close relationship between the two men has raised concerns about the phone holding messages about the appointment.
Political fallout over Lord Mandelson’s appointment
The controversy surrounding Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador – announced on 20 December 2024 – stems from his known links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Documents released by the US Department of Justice in January this year revealed that Lord Mandelson allegedly leaked confidential UK government information to Epstein. His relationship with Epstein is reported to have spanned from 2002 to 2011, continuing even after Epstein’s first conviction in 2008. Lord Mandelson was ultimately sacked as ambassador in September 2025 following further revelations about his ties to Epstein.
It has emerged that Lord Mandelson’s appointment was reportedly made despite security vetting officials recommending against granting him clearance. Sir Olly Robbins, the former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, was sacked on 16 April over the vetting controversy. Sir Olly testified before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, alleging that Downing Street created an “atmosphere of pressure” and displayed a “dismissive attitude” towards security vetting. He claimed that Number 10 questioned why Lord Mandelson should be subject to any vetting at all. It has also been suggested that Mr McSweeney told Sir Olly’s predecessor, Sir Philip Barton, to “just f**king approve it”.
Mr McSweeney has rejected the suggestion that Number 10 put pressure on Foreign Office officials. Speaking at a security conference earlier this week, he said: “I find it strange reading about a character with the same name as mine sometimes.”
Sir Keir Starmer has expressed anger over the affair, describing it as “unforgivable” that he and other ministers were not informed of the vetting concerns. The prime minister has blamed Foreign Office officials for failing to share the information, saying: “Last week, my political opponents were saying that there’s no way a civil servant wouldn’t have told me about the outcome of a developed vetting security exercise. Turns out my political opponents were completely wrong about that.” He added: “Then they said that I was dishonest. It turns out they were completely wrong about that. They are now putting any allegation they can and I will tell you for why – they are opposed politically to what this government is trying to achieve.”
Conservative MPs have suggested that elements of the phone theft incident do not add up, but Sir Keir responded: “Unfortunately, there are thefts like this. It was stolen. It was reported at the time, the police have acknowledged and confirmed that. That is what happened. The idea that somehow everybody could have seen that some time in the future there’d be a request for the phone is, to my mind, a little bit far-fetched.”
Mr McSweeney has been summoned to appear before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about the Mandelson vetting scandal. He is expected to be challenged on the account given by Sir Olly Robbins. Other officials called to give evidence include Sir Philip Barton, Ian Collard – the Foreign Office director of security – and Cat Little, the permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office.
Sir Olly Robbins also alleged that Downing Street, under strict instruction from Number 10, attempted to find a diplomatic role for Matthew Doyle, Sir Keir’s former media chief, separate from the Mandelson vetting process. Mr Doyle later received a seat in the House of Lords.
