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Update on the Government response to the Humble Address motion

My Right Honourable friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister at the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon. Darren Jones MP, has today made the following statement:

Last week the House made a Humble Address to His Majesty for the Government to disclose material surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States of America. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office also updated the House this morning in response to an Urgent Question. Given the considerable interest this matter has generated, I wanted to provide an update on the process now underway through which the Government will comply.

Government Departments have been instructed to retain any material which may be relevant, and work is now underway to identify which documents fall in scope of the motion. We will publish a first set of documents as soon as possible after the House returns from recess.

The House will be aware of the statement from the Metropolitan Police regarding the ongoing investigation. As you would expect, the Government rightly does not wish to release material that may undermine an ongoing police investigation, and as such we are working constructively with the Police as they conduct their inquiries. I will update the House accordingly.

Senior officials have this week met with the Intelligence and Security Committee to discuss what the Committee requires in order to fulfil its role in relation to the Humble Address. We are working with the Committee to put in place processes for making available to them material relating to National Security or International Relations. The Government is very grateful to the Committee for their work and commits to full engagement with them to ensure these processes are timely and effective.

The Government continues to take this matter incredibly seriously given the nature of the issues at stake and scope of material in place, and we will ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency it deserves.