LONDON — The Metropolitan Police arrested a 28-year-old man in Peckham, south London, on April 29, 2026, on suspicion of handling stolen goods in connection with the theft of a government-issued iPhone belonging to Morgan McSweeney, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The phone was taken on Belgrave Road in Pimlico shortly before 10:30 p.m. on October 20, 2025.

"Officers investigating the theft of a mobile phone in Belgrave Road, Pimlico, on 20 October 2025 have arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of handling stolen goods," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said. "The arrest took place on Wednesday 29 April at an address in Peckham. The man was taken into police custody and later bailed. He is suspected of receiving the phone after it was stolen and then selling it on."

The spokesperson added: "He is not suspected of any involvement in the original theft. The phone has not been recovered."

McSweeney reported the theft of the government device on the day it occurred. When reporting the theft, he did not disclose his role as Starmer's chief of staff. The Metropolitan Police released a transcript of the emergency call.

"Somebody hopped onto the pavement and took my phone from me," McSweeney said. "I then called 999. If No 10 had told me you need to tell the police or you need to tell the call handler what your job is, I would have done so. But otherwise, I didn't do that as a matter of course."

McSweeney also described his physical response after the theft. "I was also quite adrenalised. So what happened was, I chased the guy who stole my phone as far as I could," he said. "I was out of breath, I was completely exhausted, because at 48 years of age you shouldn't be chasing people down the street, and then I was trying to go back to the original location that it happened, so that I could tell the 999 operator."

The device was reported stolen shortly after Peter Mandelson was sacked as British ambassador to the United States. It was reported that the theft could result in messages about Mandelson's appointment to the role being lost. The Cabinet Office holds a number of text and email exchanges between McSweeney and Mandelson.