
Mandygate: The megaton bomb that shook Westminster
From Media Confidential by Prospect Magazine
April 23, 2026 · 28 min · Season 3 · Episode 63
About this episode
Alan and Lionel discuss Peter Mandelson's failed security vetting and its implications, alongside media coverage and upcoming events involving King Charles and the White House.
This week on Media Confidential , Alan and Lionel discuss the top story of the week—Peter Mandelson’s failed security vetting before he was appointed as ambassador to the United States. As Keir Starmer goes toe-to-toe with the Foreign Office, the hosts discuss the excellent coverage of Guardian journalists Pippa Crerar, Paul Lewis and Henry Dyer. They also speculate on King Charles’s upcoming state visit to the US and an inevitably fraught White House correspondents’ dinner, where the president will be making an appearance. Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the Atlantic , which faces a $250m defamation suit from the head of the FBI, Kash Patel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Hosts: Alan, Lionel
Topics covered
- politics
- security vetting
- media coverage
- defamation
- state visit
- correspondents' dinner
Keywords
- Peter Mandelson
- Keir Starmer
- Guardian
- defamation
- Kash Patel
- King Charles
- White House
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Guardian, Atlantic, White House
More episodes of Media Confidential
- Henry Nowak and how the media fuels racism · June 11, 2026 · 35 min
- Joshi Herrmann ‘If we're going to devolve more power to places like Greater Manchester we’re going to need to bulk up the quality of the local media.’ · June 8, 2026 · 38 min
- Ofcom’s Michael Grade doesn't understand impartiality · June 4, 2026 · 36 min
- Why are Britain’s politicians so weak on freedom of speech? · June 1, 2026 · 44 min
- Peter Geoghegan on getting SLAPP’d: ‘It had a huge chilling effect’ · May 28, 2026 · 41 min
- Hiring on the cheap: Are news organisations exploiting young journalists? · May 21, 2026 · 28 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Media Confidential podcast page.