Sir Keir Starmer has said it is “a little bit far-fetched” to suggest the theft of his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney’s phone was linked to the release of files relating to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US.
Speaking to broadcasters in Helsinki, Finland, the prime minister said: “The phone was stolen. It was reported to the police. There’s a transcript of the call in which Morgan McSweeney gives his name, his date of birth, the details of the phone and the police confirm that it was reported.
“Unfortunately, there are thefts like this. It was stolen. It was reported at the time, the police have acknowledged and confirmed that … and the idea that somehow everybody could have seen that some time in the future there’d be a request over the phone is, to my mind, a little bit far-fetched.”
More to follow…
