Peter Mandelson released on bail after arrest over Epstein-linked allegations
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Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with allegations tied to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Labour minister and ex-UK ambassador to the United States was questioned by the Metropolitan Police on Monday. He was seen returning to his north London home by taxi at about 2 am on Tuesday. A police statement confirmed he had been released on bail pending further investigation.
Officers are investigating claims that during his time as business secretary, Mandelson leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to Epstein. He has denied any wrongdoing and is understood to believe he has committed no offence.
The arrest comes just days before a byelection in Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester, and has intensified political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer had appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington in December 2024, a decision he later apologised for after acknowledging Mandelson had not been fully transparent about the extent of his relationship with Epstein.
The controversy has also affected senior figures in Downing Street, contributing to the departure of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
Separately, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has also been taken into police custody in a related investigation. Authorities are examining emails that allegedly show the former prince sharing confidential information with Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy. The inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor is being handled by Thames Valley police.
The Metropolitan Police investigation into Mandelson was launched after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents linked to Epstein last month. Some emails from 2009 appear to show Mandelson, then business secretary under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, sharing confidential assessments and discussing sensitive policy matters, including a proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses and an imminent eurozone bailout package.
Officers investigating Mandelson have held informal discussions with lawyers from the special crime division of the Crown Prosecution Service, though no formal charging advice has yet been sought.
Downing Street has agreed to provide documents related to Mandelson’s 2024 ambassadorial appointment to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. The first tranche of documents is expected in early March, although exchanges between Starmer and Mandelson relating to Epstein will not be released until the police investigation concludes.
Mandelson, a key architect of New Labour and a long-time ally of former prime minister Tony Blair, resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords following the fallout. His consultancy, Global Counsel, later went into administration after clients severed ties over the controversy.
The investigation remains ongoing.