Peter Mandelson, the UK’s former ambassador to the US, has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London over alleged misconduct linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images
- Peter Mandelson, the UK’s former ambassador to the US, has been arrested in London over alleged misconduct linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Metropolitan Police confirmed the 72-year-old was detained in Camden and taken in for questioning.
- The arrest follows renewed scrutiny from recently released Epstein files, intensifying political pressure on Keir Starmer’s government.
London police on Monday arrested Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, amid allegations over his ties to disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
Images on UK television appeared to show Mandelson being driven away from his north London home, accompanied by a man and a woman, after police raided his properties earlier this month.
“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview,” the Met added.
The arrest comes days after ex-prince Andrew, King Charles III’s younger brother, was arrested in a misconduct in public office probe also related to the latest release of documents related to Epstein.
READ | Former UK ambassador Mandelson quits Labour Party over ties to Epstein
Mandelson, a pivotal figure in British politics, is being probed over allegations that he sent sensitive documents to the late US sex offender Epstein when he was a government minister, including during the 2008 financial crash.
The ex-politician was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as envoy to Washington last year when an earlier release of documents linked to Epstein showed the extent of their friendship.
The latest Epstein files released by the United States on 30 January have resulted in the high-profile UK investigations.
Starmer has apologised to Epstein’s victims and accused Mandelson of lying about the extent of his ties to the financier during the vetting process for his appointment to Washington.
But Mandelson’s appointment has unleashed a political storm with two of Starmer’s top aides resigning over the row.
READ | Monarchy in crisis: Andrew’s arrest poses new challenge for King Charles
The government is to release tens of thousands of emails, messages and documents on Mandelson’s vetting procedure, which could ramp up the pressure on the prime minister and other senior ministers.
Mandelson, also a former European Union trade commissioner, stood down from Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, earlier this month.
Officers from the Met’s specialist crime team were also deployed earlier this month to search two of his addresses, one in the western English county of Wiltshire and the other in London, according to the police.
