Press release: UK Government must disclose Mandelson’s role in UK-US tech deal
Documents released today relating to Lord Mandelson suggest he played a key role in negotiating a recent technology deal between the UK and the US – while continuing to hold a stake in his lobbying firm, which represented Big Tech firms.
In an email dated 11 September 2025, titled ‘farewell’ and apparently sent to British Embassy staff in Washington, Mandelson wrote that:
“We leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent State Visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship set for next week.”
One week after that email was sent, on 18 September, 10 Downing Street published a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and US regarding the ‘Technology Prosperity Deal’. The MOU set out the two countries’ plans to “collaborate closely in the build-out of powerful AI infrastructure” and “promot[e] U.S. and UK AI exports to offer the full stack of chips, data centers, and models”.
According to the FT, Mandelson continued to hold a stake in Global Counsel, the lobbying firm he founded, as late as February 2026.
The documents released today also contain a ‘due diligence checklist’ from the time of Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador which does not appear to take into account the Big Tech clients which Global Counsel represented. It states that the firm’s “High profile clients include TikTok, Shell, Accenture, the Premier League, JP Morgan, Santander, BP, Sizewell C, and Shein.” However, it does not mention spy tech firm Palantir or AI company OpenAI – despite both having been listed in Global Counsel’s lobbying register entry for July – September 2024. The government document states that the due diligence checks were carried out in December 2024.
Donald Campbell, advocacy director at tech justice non-profit Foxglove said:
“These documents raise yet more questions over the UK Government’s deals with Trump and his Big Tech allies – and the role played by Peter Mandelson in the agreement announced during Trump’s state visit last year.
“If Lord Mandelson, as his email suggests, played a key role in negotiating the UK-US tech deal, while continuing to hold a stake in a lobbying firm representing Palantir and OpenAI, it raises serious concerns over conflicts of interest.
“Yet, looking at the due diligence documents from the time of his appointment, references to either Palantir or OpenAI are strikingly absent.
“The UK Government must urgently set out what role the former Ambassador played in this deal, and how these conflicts were managed. Otherwise it will only further reinforce the impression that it is far too happy to have its priorities set by President Trump and his Big Tech billionaire cronies.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For further information, please email press [AT] foxglove.org.uk
The documents published today by the UK Government are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69b13135cdd628b29e3495f8/V1_FINAL.pdf
The UK-US MOU on tech is available here:
The FT reported in February 2026 that Mandelson’s stake in Global Counsel was still not fully divested:
https://www.ft.com/content/888924ac-a73d-4163-9f4d-b193c1dd6247
The lobbying register entries for Global Counsel can be found here:
https://orcl.my.site.com/CLR_Public_Profile?id=0012400000jjVOzAAM