In The Room

Mandelson files: 1,504 pointless pages?

In The Room

Show Notes

After 83 days of waiting, the government has finally released the second tranche of files on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador to Washington. The first tranche was already heavy on the filler, but the latest set of documents takes it to a whole new level. It features an incredible amount of seemingly pointless material: Mandelson’s resignation letter appears 8 times, there’s pages of printed versions of Microsoft Teams notifications and the full transcript of a President Trump interview with ABC News.

Today, we dissect the files, picking out the parts that do really tell us a lot - in particular about how Peter Mandelson himself operated behind the scenes.

Executive Producers: Olivia Foster and Carrie Rose Producer: Sam Durham Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here.

Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on [email protected].

This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from In The Room

Oct 20, 2026

France is reeling after a weekend of unrest that escalated dramatically. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully, but elsewhere shops were looted, cars burned, police attacked and public buildings set alight.

Oct 13, 2026

In Andy Burnham’s Makerfield constituency, 65% of voters backed Leave. During the recent by-election campaign, Burnham said he did not want to reopen the old Brexit arguments. Yet in recent weeks, the Prime Minister has made a series of pointed interventions on Britain’s relationship with the EU.

Oct 8, 2026

Conference season is in full swing - and this week, it unfolded across two very different political stages.

Sep 30, 2026

In The Room hits Liverpool for Labour Party Conference. Cleo heads into the hall, fringe events, protests and the media pen, talking to delegates, campaigners and lobbyists to get a feel for Andy Burnham’s Labour. Helen takes a different route, moving between Shelter, the Future Governance Forum and the receptions where senior figures are talking about what comes next.

Sep 22, 2026

The Liberal Democrats are the third-largest party in the Commons, but where do they fit into Andy Burnham’s Britain? Following Ed Davey’s Brighton conference speech, we ask what the party actually stands for and uncover a surprising connection to Cleo’s political past.

See all episodes →