Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he passed sensitive information to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former Labour minister was questioned by police before being allowed to return to his London home in the early hours of Tuesday. He denies any wrongdoing.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of a 72-year-old man at an address in Camden on Monday 23 February. Officers had earlier escorted Mandelson, a former business secretary and ambassador to the United States, from his home in north London in an unmarked car. He was taken to a London police station for interview. The arrest followed search warrants at two addresses in Wiltshire and Camden.
The investigation has cast renewed scrutiny on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson to Washington despite knowing of his contact with Epstein after the financier's 2008 conviction. Starmer has apologised to Epstein's victims, saying Mandelson had lied about the extent of the relationship and was sacked when that became known. The arrest comes days before a important byelection in Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester, and has reignited criticism over Starmer's judgment.
Mandelson's arrest came shortly after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor became the first member of the royal family to be taken into police custody in modern times. Emails appeared to show the former prince sharing confidential information with Epstein while serving as a trade envoy. Searches linked to that investigation have continued at Royal Lodge in Windsor, with a search of his home on the Sandringham estate said to have concluded.
The government has been compelled to release documents related to Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador to parliament's intelligence and security committee. MPs were told that the first tranche of tens of thousands of documents would be released in early March, but exchanges between Starmer and Mandelson on Epstein would be withheld until the police investigation is completed.
Detectives investigating Mandelson have held informal discussions with lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division, which would authorise any prosecution. The Metropolitan Police has described the investigation as complex, requiring significant further evidence-gathering and analysis. Mandelson is understood to believe he has committed no offence.
