Mystery over Mandelson Epstein files arrest after homes were searched as ex-cop asks ‘what made Met change their mind?’
PETER Mandelson was dramatically arrested by “celebrity squad” cops yesterday for allegedly leaking confidential Government information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The disgraced Labour peer, 72, was held on suspicion of misconduct in public office — just days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest over similar allegations.
Mandelson — previously pictured in his underwear at Epstein’s flat — was escorted out of his home in Camden, North London, by officers from the Met’s Special Investigations Team before being driven to a police station for questioning.
However there were questions raised last night over why officers waited 17 days to arrest him following searches of his homes in London and Wiltshire.
The Government yesterday pledged to release documents behind his controversial appointment as US ambassador.
The first bundle was due to be published “very shortly in early March”, MPs were told yesterday.
MANDY RAID
Mandelson ARRESTED over Epstein files days after Andrew held by cops
MANDY PROBE
Mandelson led out of house by cops amid Epstein files probe
But Mandelson’s subsequent arrest at 4.15pm throws that timeline into doubt.
Mandelson was seen walking behind Met Detective Inspector Barry Williams, who had a body-worn camera on his jacket lapel.
Both got into the rear of an unmarked Ford Focus while a female officer climbed into the front seat.
The vehicle was then driven away to a police station somewhere in the capital.
Upon entry, Mandelson would have had a DNA saliva swab taken along with fingerprints and a mug shot before being placed in a custody suite room pending the arrival of his solicitor.
Mandelson’s arrest comes after the latest release of the Epstein files.
It led to him being accused of passing on confidential information to his sex trafficker pal while he was Labour’s Business Secretary.
The Met said: “Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview. This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”
However, former Met Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Phillips said of his shock arrest: “This is not your usual dawn spin.
“One minute the Government are talking about releasing information on Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US and very soon afterwards the police are nicking him.
“The police could quite easily have held Mandelson when they carried out the searches and questioned him under caution before simply releasing him under investigation in the way Andrew was. You have to question what has happened since the searches to make the Met change their stance and arrest him.”
It also intensified pressure on PM Sir Keir Starmer, who has come under fire for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador despite his known links to Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “This is the defining moment of Starmer’s premiership — watching the man he appointed getting arrested is an image that will stay with us for years to come.”
Police first searched Mandelson’s two homes in Wiltshire and Camden on February 6.
The tranche of three million documents released in the Epstein files show Mandelson appearing to pass information to his paedophile pal while he was Business Secretary in Gordon Brown’s Government between 2008 and 2010.
One email seemed to show him tipping off the financier about an imminent Eurozone bailout package.
Another saw him advising top bankers to “mildly threaten” the then-Chancellor Alistair Darling over plans to curb their bonuses.
They also suggest that Epstein sent £55,000 to Mandelson, as well as £10,000 to his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Also included was a picture of Mandelson in his underpants at one of Epstein’s apartments, and another of the two men on a boat.
The Cabinet Office has given police an internal assessment of some of Mandelson’s emails to Epstein and whether they transgressed rules.
Mandelson previously denied wrongdoing.
He began working for Labour in the 1980s, playing a key role in Tony Blair’s landslide election victory in 1997.
Dubbed “The Prince of Darkness”, he served as a Cabinet minister under Blair and his successor Brown before he went on to be trade commissioner for the EU.
While Mandelson’s ties to Epstein were known for years, it did not stop the PM from appointing him as US ambassador in December 2024.
PM barely survived Mandy saga 1st time around… now it rears its ugly head all over again
By Noa Hoffman, Political Correspondent
DUBBED the “prince of darkness” during his Westminster heyday, Peter Mandelson won’t stop casting storm clouds over Sir Keir Starmer.
Earlier this month the PM came perilously close to a leadership challenge after revelations about the Labour grandee’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
But Sir Keir survived – just.
Cabinet ministers duly lined up, one after another, to say they accepted the PM’s apology for appointing Mandelson as US Ambassador and were backing him to keep leading the country.
Now, images of the former cabinet minister being escorted from his home by police will thrust the whole saga straight back to the top of the news agenda – and with a crunch by-election only three days away.
This morning the PM was pictured beaming in Gorton and Denton, where he’s staring down a serious fight from Reform and the Greens.
But instead of attention on Sir Keir’s SEND funding announcement, or his attack on Green plans to legalise heroin, the spotlight will fall firmly on the disgraced Labour heavyweight he personally entrusted with the most prestigious diplomatic job going.
The arrest will pile fresh pressure on ministers – and the police – to set out a clear timetable for releasing the Mandelson vetting files, so the public can judge exactly what Sir Keir knew, and when.
It will also revive, in voters’ minds, an uncomfortable link between Labour and the grubbiest strain of Westminster sleaze.
This is another dangerous moment for Sir Keir and you can be sure his rivals and opponents will be circling, ready to pounce if the moment is right.
Starmer eventually sacked him last September following reports that he continued his friendship with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for sex offences.
CPS lawyers are in consultation with police forces investigating the fallout of the disclosures by the US Justice Department of three million documents linked to Epstein.
At least nine forces in the UK are investigating and assessing allegations against named VIPs, including Mandelson, Andrew and a “Third Man”.
A steering group has been set up by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National Crime Agency are assisting.
British law enforcement officials are in touch with the FBI and hoping to secure original material which has been redacted.
Legal experts said last night that Mandelson’s arrest showed police have reasonable suspicion “an offence has been committed”.
Stephen Halloran, of Lawtons Solicitors, said: “The arrest will allow the police to ask questions under caution about his involvement in any criminal offences and to comment on the evidence that is in possession of the police.”
What is misconduct in a public office?
PETER Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office – one of the hardest laws in the UK to prosecute.
The offence is defined as “serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held”, according to the CPS.
It happens when a public office holder wilfully neglects to perform his or her duty or wilfully misconducts him or herself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in that office.
Although it carries a maximum life sentence, it is unlikely anyone convicted of the offence would die behind bars.
The crime is also notoriously difficult to define – let alone prove.
Just 191 people were convicted of misconduct in a public office between 2014 and 2024.
Prosecutors and police would have to jump a number of legal hurdles before even considering any charges.
They would first have to find clear evidence Mandelson was in a public office role at the time, and that he knowingly abused or exploited his position.
Authorities would also have to figure out how to define the case.
As misconduct in a public office is not a statutory offence, there are no hard and fast rules.
It is so confusing that the Law Commission has itself has called for a clearer definition.
If Mandelson were to be charged, the offence is indictable-only – meaning the lord would have to face a jury trial.
