First Minister's visit to Washington DC - Meetings with Lord Peter Mandelson and the attendance to the State Banquet: 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) Minutes, notes, or records of all meetings between Lord Peter Mandelson and the First Minister, Scottish ministers, officials, or advisers in the six months prior to the visit, including any preparatory calls or discussions about the whisky tariff talks.

2) All information, briefings, or advice provided to the First Minister or his office regarding Lord Peter Mandelson prior to, during, or following the visit, including any mentions of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (such as the 2003 birthday message, post-conviction emails from 2008-2011, or financial transactions), and any assurances about the due process followed in Mandelson's appointment as Ambassador.

3) All electronic communications, minutes, notes, or records of meetings and interactions between Lord Peter Mandelson and the First Minister, Scottish Government officials, special advisers, or delegation members during the visit itself (7-10 September 2025), including the breakfast meeting, any joint engagements at the White House or Capitol Hill, and discussions related to Scotch whisky tariffs or other matters.

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(1) – otherwise publicly available.

Some of the information you have requested has been included in the attached annex. This includes briefing for the First Minister’s introductory call with Lord Mandelson prior to his appointment as British Ambassador to the United States, a note of call between the First Minister and Lord Mandelson on 27 July 202, and briefing  repared for the First Minister’s attendance at the State Banquet for the State Visit of President Trump.

The following exemptions have been applied to information in that annex, s.28(1) -relations with the UK, s.32(1)(a)(i) 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 briefing about Lord Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and information about the process for ambassadorial appointments.

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 Lord Mandelson in Washington and a note of the First Minister’s meeting with President Trump which Lord  Mandelson attended in his capacity British Ambassador to the United States. I have provided a link to that information below;

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

An exemption under section 28 (1) – relations with the UK - applies to information in the attached annex. This includes sections of the briefing for the First Minister’s introductory call with Lord Mandelson prior to his appointment as British Ambassador to the United States. 

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 First Minister’s briefing for the State Banquet prepared for the First Minister’s attendance at the State Banquet for the State Visit of President Trump.

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.

As the remainder of these documents falls outside the scope of your request, these sections have been removed. This approach ensures you receive the information requested without unnecessary redaction of material that is not relevant.

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 202600505175 - Information released - Annex

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