Police review CCTV in Morgan McSweeney’s phone theft investigation

LocalPolitics
28 Mar 2026 • 4:48 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • The Metropolitan Police are reviewing CCTV footage after the phone of Sir Keir Starmer's former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, was stolen in Pimlico.
  • The loss of Mr McSweeney's phone means crucial messages relating to Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador will not be publicly disclosed.
  • MPs had previously voted to force the publication of documents to investigate Lord Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein before he was given the Washington role.
  • Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called the phone theft "fishy," but Sir Keir Starmer dismissed any connection to the Mandelson files as "far-fetched."
  • Lord Mandelson will be asked to provide messages from his personal phone as part of the ongoing disclosure of files concerning his controversial ambassadorial appointment.

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