'This is like something out of The Thick of It': Peter Mandelson 'went tonto' as moaned about Downing Street's frantic scramble to get Donald Trump his own ministerial 'red box'

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 15:54, 1 June 2026 | Updated: 15:57, 1 June 2026 Peter Mandelson 'went tonto' as he raged at Downing Street's faltering efforts to secure a ministerial 'red box' for Donald Trump, newly-published emails have shown. The release of the latest tranche of Government files related to Lord Mandelson's spell as US ambassador has revealed No10's frantic scramble to arrange the gift. Mr Trump is said to have wanted a 'red dispatch box with the gold crest and lettering' to mimic the official boxes carried by UK ministers, according to the emails. Ahead of the US President's state visit to Britain in September last year, Whitehall officials were shown to have devoted considerable efforts to obtaining the present. The documents published on Monday also showed how Lord Mandelson intervened in an apparent complaint about the time being taken to secure the gift. In an email to Keir Starmer's then-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, in late August 2025, the disgraced peer compared the situation to TV's The Thick of It. He added he had 'gone tonto on this' in the heavily-redacted message to the Prime Minister's top aide. The disgraced peer ended up resigning just days before Mr Trump's visit to Britain, in September 2025, following fresh revelations about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Peter Mandelson 'went tonto' as he raged at Downing Street's faltering efforts to secure a ministerial 'red box' for Donald Trump, newly-published emails have shown Mr Trump is said to have wanted a 'red dispatch box with the gold crest and lettering' to mimic the official boxes carried by UK ministers, according to the emails In an email to Keir Starmer's then-chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, in late August 2025, Lord Mandelson compared the situation to TV's The Thick of It The latest tranche of Mandelson files also included a chain of messages between Foreign Office and Downing Street officials discussing the red box In the final weeks of his time as US ambassador, Lord Mandelson was revealed to have emailed Mr McSweeney on 26 August that year about Mr Trump's proposed gift. He wrote: 'The saga goes on. See Olly email. This is like something out of Thick of it.  'We are now facing the red box being presented by [redacted] after [redacted] with [redacted]. I have gone tonto on this.' In an earlier email, on 15 August 2025, Lord Mandelson had told Mr McSweeney that a red box with Mr Trump's name and cypher 'fits the bill' for a gift.  The latest tranche of Mandelson files also included a chain of messages between Foreign Office and Downing Street officials discussing the red box. Olly Robbins, who was then the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, wrote on 26 August 2025: 'As I'm sure you know, is clear that one of the gifts that would mean the most to the President would be a red dispatch box with the gold crest and lettering mimicking a UK Government Ministerial box but with 'President of the United States' inscribed upon it.' A letter, dated 10 July 2025, between Barrow, Hepburn and Gale - the manufacturer of ministerial boxes, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves' private office revealed the request for a red box came from 'persons of influence close to President Trump'. The letter shared concerns that 'a presentation made on the fringes by anyone other than the Prime Minister or the monarch during a state visit would be potentially embarrassing both to the country and the office of the Prime Minister'. It added: 'For the sake of clarity I must make the distinction between the office per-se and the individual personality because over the many years, we have carefully avoided appearing to endorse anyone'. The manufacturer also outlined how producing a bespoke box for Mr Trump 'has already been designed and been met with approval' and it would take '8-10 weeks' for production. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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.