The turmoil in Britain’s establishment over the release of the files of US child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has deepened after former UK cabinet member Peter Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Labour Party peer Mandelson (72), a former Northern Ireland secretary, was led from his London home on Monday afternoon by officers from the city’s Metropolitan Police.
They are investigating allegations that he passed market-sensitive information to the US financier Epstein. Emails released as part of the US files appeared to show that Mandelson sent his friend confidential UK government reports.
He also appeared to leak him information about taxes on bankers’ bonuses and gave Epstein confidential information about a bailout package for the euro in 2010 before it had been publicly announced.
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Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing or criminal behaviour in relation to his links to Epstein, although he has apologised for keeping up his friendship with him even after he was convicted of child sex offences in 2008.
His arrest came just four days after British former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was also detained by officers on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. He has also denied wrongdoing.
The Metropolitan Police had already confirmed three weeks ago that they were investigating Mandelson, after the latest batch of Epstein files sparked uproar in British politics when the full extent of his and Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to the sex offender emerged. They had also already searched Mandelson’s homes in Wiltshire and London.
The Labour peer had previously tried to claim that Epstein was just a peripheral figure in his life, but the emails released in the US appeared to show that, in fact, they had a close friendship.
Mandelson was appointed by UK prime minister Keir Starmer as the UK’s ambassador to Washington in December 2024, despite his known links to Epstein at the time and, it seems, warnings from senior Labour Party figures.
Starmer sacked Mandelson from the Washington role last September when the first batch of Epstein files lifted the veil on the depth of his friendship with the sex offender.
The UK prime minister had been advised to appoint Mandelson by his Cork-born then chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who this month also quit over the affair. Starmer, who has come under political pressure for appointing Mandelson, has accused him of lying about the extent of his Epstein links when he was being vetted for the ambassador role.
Starmer’s government has agreed to release all communications it had with Mandelson after he became ambassador, apart from messages deemed sensitive to national security by a parliamentary committee.
Darren Jones, a UK government cabinet member, told the House of Commons on Monday that the first batch of these so-called Mandelson files will be released early next month.
Mandelson can be held for up to 24 hours following his arrest, although this can be extended to 96 hours with permission from a magistrate.
