Correspondence relating to the First Minister's international visits: FOI release

Information requested

I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This request concerns First Minister John Swinney's visit to Washington DC between 7-10 September 2025, his interactions with Lord Peter Mandelson (then UK Ambassador to the United States), and any knowledge or discussions regarding Lord Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Please provide the following information:

1) All materials, briefings, or communications provided to or by the Scottish Government regarding Lord Mandelson’s interests, including his work with Global Counsel, relations with Russia and China, and specifically his documented links to Jeffrey Epstein, as revealed in emails and documents from 2003 onwards.

2) All papers, agendas, briefings, and minutes of meetings relating to the planning, decision-making, and arrangements for John Swinney's visit to Washington DC, including the choice to stay at the UK Ambassador's residence, the breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson, and any discussions about potential meetings with US President Donald Trump.

3) All electronic communications (including emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, and other digital correspondence) between the First Minister’s Chief of Staff, John Swinney, Scottish ministers, officials, or special advisers and Lord Peter Mandelson in the six months prior to the visit (March to September 2025).

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions of FOISA under sections s.17- notice that the information is not held and s.25 – otherwise publicly available and s.27(1) – intended for future release.

Some of the information you have requested has been included in the attached annex. This includes emails about the planning of the visit arrangements for the breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson and arrangements for the First Minister’s stay at the residence in response to part two of the question and a copy of an email attached letter to Lord Mandelson from the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in response to part three.

The following exemptions have been applied to information in that annex, s.28(1) - relations with the UK, s.32(1)(a)(i) – relations with another state, s.33(1)(b) – commercial interests and s.38 (1)(b) – personal information.

The reasons why exemptions have been applied apply is explained below.

FOISA Exemptions

An exemption under section 17 – notice that the information is not held – applies to some of the information in this request. This includes the request for briefing about Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, his relations with Russia and China, and any messages between the First Minister’s Chief of Staff and/or officials with Peter Mandelson.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested and are therefore unable to provide any information in answer to that part of your request.

An exemption under section 25 (1) –information otherwise accessible – applies to some of the information in this request. This means some of the information is in the public domain and already reasonably accessible to you. This includes briefing for the First Minister’s meeting with Peter Mandeslon in Washington which references his work with Global Counsel. I have provided a link to that briefing below;

Information regarding First Minister meeting with United States President: FOI release - gov.scot 

An exemption under section 27(1) -intended for future release - applies to some of the information in this request. This includes emails about arranging the meeting with President Trump. This information has been requested in a previous FOI request and will be released within 12 weeks of receipt of your request.

An exemption under section 28 (1) – relations with the UK - applies to information in the attached annex.

This includes sections in the emails chains about the planning of the visit arrangements for the breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson and arrangements for the First Minister’s stay at the residence.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the interest in disclosing information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining our relations with the UK on matters relating to government policy.

An exemption under section 32(1)(a)(i) – relations with another state - applies to information in the attached annex. This includes sections of the email’s chains about the planning of the visit, arrangements for the breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson and arrangements for the First Minister’s stay at the residence.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the interest in disclosing information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the UK’s diplomatic relations with another state.

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) –commercial interests - applies to information in the attached annex. This includes sections of the email’s chains about the planning of the visit.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the interest in disclosing information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in the Scottish Government maintaining the confidence of businesses on sensitive commercial matters.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This is because some of the information you have requested is the personal data of third parties. This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600505172 - Information released - Annex

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