The ex-ambassador to the US, who was fired in September, was detained ‘on suspicion of misconduct in public office’, police said
Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson has been arrested by London police on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear.
Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement relating to an investigation into a former government minister.
Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the US Justice Department in late January, showed the two men had a closer relationship than had been publicly known, and Mandelson had shared information with the financier when he was a minister in former prime minister Gordon Brown’s government.
Mandelson, who this month resigned from Starmer’s Labour Party and quit his position in parliament’s upper chamber, has previously said he “very deeply” regretted his past association with Epstein. But he has not commented publicly or responded to messages seeking comment on the latest revelations.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
