Morgan McSweeney ‘didn’t tell police he worked at No 10’ after phone theft
Morgan McSweeney failed to tell police he worked for the Prime Minister when his phone was stolen, a newly released transcript of his 999 call reveals.
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There are concerns exchanges relating to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US could be lost as a result of the snatching of the mobile phone used by Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff.
The Metropolitan Police, which wrongly recorded the theft as having taken place in east London rather than Westminster, stressed officers and staff did not know the caller’s job or the sensitivity of the material that would have been saved on his phone at the time.
In the course of the call, McSweeney, who resigned from government earlier this year, gave his name, a personal email address and a home address outside London, and he says the device is a Government phone and that he has called his office to get it tracked.
Read more: Morgan McSweeney's stolen phone was reported to police after Mandelson was sacked
He then wrongly gives the location as Belgrave Street, which is in Tower Hamlets, rather than Belgrave Road in Westminster, during the call on October 20 last year.
The error, uncovered when the Met was responding to a media query about the case, meant officers checked the wrong CCTV and concluded there were no realistic lines of inquiry to follow. This is now being reviewed.
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 said the loss of messages was a “cock-up rather than conspiracy”, while Downing Street was keen to emphasise that the phone theft happened “months before” MPs compelled the Government to release correspondence related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
MPs moved in February to force the publication of tens of thousands of documents amid questions over what was known about the peer’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.
Concerns have been raised over the fact that the phone of the Prime Minister’s then-top aide was not backed up, leading to the loss of the correspondence.
It is unclear what efforts No 10 made to retrieve the phone, and Sir Keir’s spokesman refused to comment on confidential “security arrangements”, adding that “long-established and robust processes to manage information security” after the theft of a Government work device were deployed.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman set out Government guidance for the recording of communications on non-corporate communications channels, including WhatsApp, but declined to say whether Mr McSweeney complied with it.
The official told reporters: “Messages only need to be kept where they relate to substantive discussions or decisions that form part of the official record.
“Significant Government information exchanged via these channels must be captured into Government systems by copying, forwarding, screenshotting or recording its substance.”
Asked whether Mr McSweeney followed the rules, the spokesman would only say that “individuals … are responsible for deciding how the rules apply to each communication using their professional judgment and considering the context”.
The spokesman said the guidance is kept “under constant review”.
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.
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.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s official spokesman contested the official narrative on Mr McSweeney’s stolen phone.
“I think she has definitely raised an eyebrow over the last 24 hours,” he said, when asked about Mrs Badenoch’s reaction to the claims it had been stolen.
“From the very outset of the Mandelson affair, the Prime Minister’s first instinct has been to obfuscate and cover up.”
The spokesman would not go as far as to suggest Mr McSweeney was lying about his phone being stolen, but said: “I think what Kemi would say is, it’s very fortunate timing.”