Lord Mandelson is facing a possible investigation by Scotland Yard into his links to Jeffrey Epstein. After a whirlwind day of revelations over the peer’s ties to the paedophile financier, the Met Police said it was reviewing several allegations made against Lord Mandelson.
Met Commander Ella Marriott said: “We are aware of the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.” Without naming Lord Mandelson, she added: “Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.”
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer told the disgraced peer to resign from the Lords. The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald urgently to report to him on Lord Mandelson’s ties with Epstein. But the Scottish National Party called for a police investigation into Lord Mandelson and whether he leaked sensitive Government information to Epstein.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn pressed the PM in the Commons: “Does he agree with myself that Peter Mandelson should be subject to a police investigation for potential criminality whilst in public office?” Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stressed: “These allegations are incredibly serious, it is now only right that the police investigate Peter Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office.”
After claims that Lord Mandelson may have leaked Government documents on financial matters to Epstein, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the Cabinet Secretary to carry out an “intensive” investigation into the alleged disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then Business Department during the global financial crisis. Mr Brown said he raised the matter last September but that a Whitehall inquiry had concluded that no departmental record could be found of any information or communication from Lord Mandelson to Mr Epstein on these issues.
The Prime Minister was himself facing questions over why he had appointed Lord Mandelson to be Britain’s ambassador to the US given his past Cabinet sackings. As the storm was spiralling, Downing Street said the PM had asked for Lord Mandelson’s links to Epstein to be “urgently looked at”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title.” But he stressed that the premier did not have the power to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage so wanted to “work with” the parliamentary authorities to seek a way to achieve this as quickly as possible.
