Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with an investigation stemming from fresh disclosures in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The 72-year-old former Labour minister and former UK ambassador to the United States was escorted from his Camden residence in London by plain-clothes officers on Monday and taken away in a police vehicle. Authorities also carried out search warrants at a separate property in Wiltshire.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the development, saying officers arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office at a Camden address on Monday, February 23. He was transported to a London police station for questioning following coordinated searches at properties in both Wiltshire and Camden.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Sewart confirmed that officers from the Metropolitan Police Central Specialist Crime team were executing search warrants at two properties—one in Wiltshire and another in Camden. She stated that the searches form part of an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct in public office involving a 72-year-old man.
Peter Mandelson is alleged to have shared market-sensitive information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as Business Secretary under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis. Police are said to have opened a criminal investigation into the claims.
Photographs released by the US Department of Justice as part of the Epstein files allegedly show Mandelson in his underwear at Epstein’s Paris residence, along with another image of the pair together aboard a yacht. Records are also reported to indicate a series of payments from Epstein to Mandelson and his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Mandelson has yet to comment publicly on the latest allegations. However, in an earlier interview with The Times, he acknowledged what he described as a “lapse in judgment” concerning money Epstein transferred to his husband to fund an osteopathy course.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington in December 2024, has since distanced himself from the former diplomat. Starmer said Mandelson had “betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” and claimed he had repeatedly misled his team about the nature of his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure. He added that he regretted the appointment and would not have offered Mandelson a government role had he been aware of the full details.
Mandelson, a prominent figure during the New Labour years and often dubbed the “Prince of Darkness” because of his political influence, was removed from his diplomatic post in Washington last year over his links to Epstein. The Metropolitan Police investigation is ongoing.
