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The Metropolitan Police have apprehended a 28-year-old man on suspicion of selling a mobile phone that once belonged to Morgan McSweeney, who served as the prime minister’s chief of staff. The phone was reported stolen in October 2025 from an area in Pimlico, London. Authorities confirmed that the arrest occurred on April 29 at a residence in Peckham. The individual involved was taken into custody and then released on bail. Importantly, he is not believed to have been involved in the initial theft but is suspected of handling and subsequently selling the stolen device. The missing phone has not yet been recovered.
The incident surfaced earlier this year when the government was publishing documents concerning the appointment of Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States. McSweeney, known to be an ally of Lord Mandelson, had advised the prime minister to select him for the diplomatic position. However, McSweeney later expressed regret over this recommendation, citing Lord Mandelson’s connection to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a major concern. It is believed that the stolen phone might have contained messages shedding light on the appointment process, though much of the relevant information had already been disclosed.
While the phone was taken in October—just a month after Lord Mandelson’s dismissal and several months before MPs demanded the government publish related communications—an error during the initial police report led to confusion over the theft’s location. The incident was mistakenly recorded as happening on Belgrave Street in Tower Hamlets, rather than Belgrave Road in Westminster. Additionally, the police noted that McSweeney did not inform them at the time of the theft that he held a senior government position or the potential security risks posed by losing his device. Due to criticism about the early investigation’s handling, the police made the unusual move in March of publishing the transcript of McSweeney’s 999 call.
Last month, during testimony before a parliamentary committee, McSweeney revealed that he had promptly informed Downing Street about the theft and had hoped officials could track the missing phone. When asked whether the device contained messages related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment, McSweeney responded: “Probably not much about his appointment that hasn’t already been available to No. 10.” He further explained that following Lord Mandelson’s sacking, Downing Street had investigated the appointment and requested he share all relevant communications. “Everything that I had at that time in September, which was more than a month before my phone was stolen, I shared it with the No 10 team,” McSweeney said
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