Cabinet minister 'regrets' failure to disclose meeting with Mandelson's lobbying firm

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 14:08, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 14:21, 10 June 2026 A Cabinet minister has voiced 'regret' for failing to disclose a meeting with Peter Mandelson's lobbying firm.   Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander admitted the 'oversight' after the discussions were revealed in a huge dump of messages earlier this month.  The correspondence with Mandelson showed the New Labour architect had introduced Mr Alexander - then trade minister - to a 'trade expert' in July 2024. The revelation sparked demands for an investigation by the ministerial ethics watchdog into whether Mr Alexander breached rules by not reporting the encounter until March 2026. In a letter to Keir Starmer published today, Mr Alexander said: 'I wanted to make you aware of an oversight that has emerged in the transparency reporting of a meeting that took place whilst I was the minister for trade policy and economic security. 'On July 21, 2024, I asked Peter Mandelson, given his past experience as EU trade commissioner, to suggest the name of a British trade policy expert from his time at the European Commission, with whom I could meet. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander admitted the 'oversight' after the discussions were revealed in a huge dump of messages earlier this month In a letter to Keir Starmer published today, Mr Alexander said he 'regretted' the 'oversight' 'The name suggested was a former official of the European Commission, working on trade policy, who by that time worked at Global Counsel.' Mr Alexander said the meeting was held on July 31 2024 and 'covered general trade policy across the globe and that there was no discussion of named businesses or of any ongoing role for Global Counsel'. The Scottish Secretary went on to say he delegated the transparency reporting to officials who did not do so. He wrote: 'In March 2026, in the process of complying with the Humble Address, I became aware that this meeting had been omitted from the DBT (Department for Business and Trade) transparency website and instructed officials to rectify this error. 'I am grateful to have received the independent adviser on ministerial standards' advice on this matter and of course regret this inadvertent administrative oversight.' The Prime Minister replied that while the 'administrative oversight is regrettable', Mr Alexander 'acted appropriately when the issue was identified, including engaging with the independent adviser on ministerial standards, and I consider no further action to be needed'. Mr Alexander, who returned to elected politics in the 2024 general election, almost a decade after being ousted from the Commons, faced calls to quit over his ties to Mandelson. The exchanges showed Mr Alexander welcoming his US Ambassador appointment as 'good news' and thanking him for being 'influential' in his 'whole improbable journey'. The correspondence with Mandelson showed the New Labour architect had introduced Mr Alexander - then trade minister - a 'trade expert' in July 2024 MPs voted earlier this year to force the disclosure of documents relating to Lord Mandelson's time as ambassador. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: 'This is an extraordinary 'oversight' from Douglas Alexander and is yet more evidence of the cosy relationship he has enjoyed with the 'best pal' of the world's most notorious paedophile. 'It is clear that the influence of Peter Mandelson and Global Counsel stretches right across Government. Labour ministers must now come clean about any further undeclared meetings with Global Counsel staff or clients.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.