Labour veteran Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police has said.
It comes after the force launched a criminal probe into the sacked ambassador to Washington earlier this month after allegations he passed market-sensitive information to the billionaire predator Jeffrey Epstein.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said today: "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. This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas."
Images on Monday showed Lord Mandelson, who was Business Secretary in Gordon Brown's government during the financial crash, being led away from his home by plain-clothed officers to an umarked Ford Focus police car.
No10 said earlier this month the Cabinet Office had passed material to the Metropolitan Police after a review of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice. The files also appeared to show Lord Mandelson discuss a tax on bankers' bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
Responding to Lord Mandelson's arrest today, minister Jacqui Smith told Times Radio: "The police will do what they need to do and will pursue the investigation as they see fit and I think that's the most important thing for people like me to say at this moment in time."
The scandal engulfing the Labour veteran led to him resigning his seat in the House of Lords earlier this month amid intense political pressure. Downing Street is also planning legislation to officially strip him of his peerage title.
In October last year, Lord Mandleson was sacked by Keir Starmer as the UK's ambassador to the US over his friendship with Epstein. But the latest release of the US Epstein files in late January reignated the scandal and led to calls for Mr Starmer to quit No10.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly accused his former top diplomat in Washington of lying to his team during the vetting process before the appointment.
In a speech earlier in February during which he apologised to Epstein's victims for appointing Mandelson, Mr Starmer said: "The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies. He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew. And when that became clear and it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service."
Source: Drudge Report
