Gordon Brown raised concerns over hiring of Mandelson and ex-Sun editor David Dinsmore

Gordon Brown wrote to the government raising concerns about two of Keir Starmer’s key appointments: David Dinsmore, the former editor of the Sun, as the government’s head of communications, and Peter Mandelson, then the UK ambassador to Washington.

In two letters to the cabinet secretary, Chris Wormald, last summer, Brown raised questions about Dinsmore’s ethical record and allegations over his involvement in obtaining his son’s private medical records.

In September, the former PM wrote to Wormald again, asking the Cabinet Office to investigate allegations involving Mandelson, Jeffrey Epstein and the sale of a business by government-controlled RBS in 2010, when Mandelson was business secretary in his government.

The warnings in writing are part of wider concerns raised by members of Starmer's own party over appointments made with the backing of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.

Some of those concerns relate to a perceived cosiness with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, which owns the Sun, and have resulted in public criticism – from Labour figures and the bereaved families of the Hillsborough victims.

Dinsmore, who was editor of the Scottish Sun and the Sun before rising to chief operating officer of News UK, has always maintained that the medical records were obtained lawfully.

He was appointed to the new role of permanent secretary director for government communications at the Cabinet Office in November last year. During the vetting process, required for a role of this seniority, the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics Team (PET) ran the same desktop due diligence as for Mandelson, relying on information in the public domain.

After Brown’s contact, the team “delved a bit further… but there wasn’t much more we could do”, one source said. The dossier provided by PET highlighted “known issues” including his conviction for having breached the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act after publishing a pixelated image of the teenage victim of footballer Adam Johnson, and the fact he was forced to resign from ParkRun after runners complained that it was an “affront”.

It also raised red flags about having a former Sun editor leading government communications when Labour was pushing through the Hillsborough Law, given the newspaper’s negative coverage of the football fans at the time of the disaster. “None of it was seen as an outright bar,” said the source, describing Dinsmore as “fairly risky reputationally”.

The dossier was handed to a panel that included Wormald and Gisela Stuart, head of the Civil Service Commission, as well as being flagged to Starmer, who personally interviewed Dinsmore and was said to have been impressed by his expertise.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “David’s appointment followed a rigorous, open recruitment process, overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission. He underwent all relevant appointment and due diligence checks. He brings decades of experience running large, complex communications operations.”

Brown did not receive a response to his letters about Dinsmore until after he was in place. In reply to his questions about Mandelson, Brown was told no departmental record could be found. The Cabinet Office does not have access to private email accounts.

Emails released in the Epstein files last weekend show the pair discussing the RBS deal. In one interaction, the financier told Mandelson he should “personally take credit” for the sale going through, but added “fyi [there] maybe some asks in return”.

Mandelson has not responded to repeated requests for comment. Brown declined to comment.

Photograph by PA/Alamy