Police arrest Lord Mandelson
Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, weeks after the police launched an investigation into the former Labour peer over his relations with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Met police said in a statement they had arrested a 72-year-old man in Camden. Mandelson was pictured being taken out of his house.
A spokesperson said: “Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview.
“This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.
“We are not able to provide further information at this stage to prevent prejudicing the integrity of the investigation.”
The police had launched an investigation into the former ambassador to the US after new details of his relations with Epstein emerged, including apparent leaks of sensitive government information around the time of the 2008 financial crisis.
Mandelson’s arrest follows that of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, though he was released from custody on Thursday evening.
Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing. He retired from the House of Lords and quit the Labour Party in the days after the release of the full Epstein files, which unveiled a number of email exchanges in which he appeared to share confidential information with the then-convicted paedophile.
The Labour government is considering legislation to fully remove his title.
Mandelson row hits Labour
Alleged leaks included details of a 500bn euro bailout for the Eurozone and the Treasury’s sales of government assets to shore up public finances after the financial crash.
Emails also indicated that Mandelson shared close financial ties with Epstein, including a $75,000 payment in 2003 and 2004.
The government has handed the police information on Mandelson and internal assessments of alleged leaks. It has also vowed to release all documents relating to his appointment as UK ambassador to the US months after Labour was elected in 2024.
On Monday afternoon in Parliament, chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones revealed the first tranche of documents related to Mandelson would be published as early as March.
Thousands of documents on Mandelson are expected to be published by the government while some will be withheld pending police inquiries, national security matters and international relations.
Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit Downing Street over his ties with Mandelson a fortnight ago.
The Prime Minister was meanwhile pictured in Gorton and Denton on Monday afternoon ahead of a crucial by-election later this week.