Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

Peter MandelsonAdd to myFTGet instant alerts for this topicManage your delivery channels hereRemove from myFTPeter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public officeMove comes after details of peer’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein revealed in US justice department documentsThe Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation into former cabinet minister Peter Mandelson this month © BBC NewsPeter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on x (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on facebook (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on linkedin (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on x (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on facebook (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on linkedin (opens in a new window)Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Lucy Fisher, Jim Pickard and Robert Wright in LondonPublishedFebruary 23 2026UpdatedFebruary 23 2026Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following claims he leaked confidential UK government memos to Jeffrey Epstein and received cash from the paedophile American financier.The Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation into the former cabinet minister this month after the London force said it had received a number of complaints, including a referral from the UK government.His arrest marks a dramatic fall from grace for a politician credited as one of the architects of New Labour alongside Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.Mandelson served at the highest levels of the British government, including as a cabinet minister, European trade commissioner and UK ambassador to the US.The Met on Monday 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, February 23 and has been taken to a London police station for interview.”The force had previously searched two properties associated with the peer as part of the investigation. Mandelson has denied wrongdoing.Show video infoShow video descriptionVideo descriptionPeter Mandelson leaves his home with Metropolitan Police officers on MondayPeter Mandelson leaves his home with Metropolitan Police officers on Monday © ReutersTelevision footage showed a grim-faced Mandelson being led from the front door of his luxury home in London’s Regent’s Park by two detectives. He got into a waiting unmarked police car.Mandelson retired from the House of Lords earlier this month on the day that news broke of the police investigation. He retains his title, but the government is examining urgent legislation to remove his life peerage.The latest tranche of the so-called Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice in January showed Mandelson, while he was both UK business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister, passed government information to the convicted sex offender in 2009 and 2010.This included details of a €500bn EU bailout of the Eurozone and a Downing Street memo setting out plans for a £20bn asset sale and tax changes.The Cabinet Office has passed to the police its internal assessment of some of Mandelson’s emails to Epstein and of the controls that were in place around the market-sensitive information contained within them. The FT revealed that in 2010 Mandelson, while a minister, had lobbied the US government on behalf of Epstein and JPMorgan’s Jes Staley, deploying their talking points about financial crisis reforms related to banking regulation in conversations with an American official.Other emails in the justice department cache showed Epstein sent Mandelson $75,000 in total in 2003 and 2004. Epstein also sent thousands of pounds in 2009 and 2010 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, who was Mandelson’s partner at the time and is now his husband, the FT revealed.Mandelson has said he has no recollection of receiving the $75,000, although he belatedly confirmed Epstein’s payments to Da Silva.Sir Keir Starmer has faced heavy scrutiny over his judgment in appointing Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington in 2024, after the prime minister admitted he knew the peer kept ties with Epstein after he was jailed for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl in July 2008.However, Starmer has said Mandelson “lied repeatedly” about the extent of his friendship with Epstein. Ministers, aides and officials are bracing for the political fallout from the release of tens of thousands of documents relating to Mandelson and his appointment as ambassador.The first tranche of those papers will be published in early March, Darren Jones, first secretary to the prime minister, said on Monday, although the minister was unable to say when the entire batch of documents would be published in full.Jones said some relevant documents will be held back because they are involved in the Met investigation, including correspondence from during the vetting process when Mandelson became US ambassador.If Mandelson is successfully prosecuted for misconduct in public office, he would become the first former UK government minister to be convicted of the common-law offence, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.Last week, Global Counsel, a lobbying firm Mandelson co-founded, went into administration after an exodus of clients in the wake of the revelations in the Epstein files. Mandelson launched the company, whose clients included TikTok, JPMorgan and Palantir, after Labour lost the 2010 general election.Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section Follow the topics in this article Epstein files Add to myFT UK politics Add to myFT US Department of Justice Add to myFT Jeffrey Epstein Add to myFT Keir Starmer Add to myFT CommentsComments have not been enabled for this article.