Peter Mandelson, a former U.K. ambassador to the United States, has been arrested in London over a criminal investigation into alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a statement on Monday, without naming Mandelson directly as is typical with arrests. The high profile British politician was taken to an undisclosed London police station for questioning over the alleged sharing of confidential material with Epstein, the statement added. It’s understood the arrest was made by the Met Police’s Specialist Crime Directorate.
His resignation in Sept. 2025 as British ambassador to the U.S. followed Mandelson’s name appearing in a release at the time of so-called Epstein files. Mandelson is considered an elder statesman of the governing Labour Party in the UK and has denied any criminal wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.
His arrest comes after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and brother to King Charles III, was also arrested in the U.K. and later released after being held in custody over the same allegations of misconduct in public office.
“The force launched an investigation into the ex-Labor minister on 3 February over allegations he passed market-sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” the Met Police statement added about the investigation into Mandelson on Monday.
British police said they conducted searches of two properties belonging to the well-known British politician in the county of Wiltshire and London. “We are not able to provide further information at this stage to prevent prejudicing the integrity of the investigation,” the Met Police added about the active legal proceedings being brought against Mandelson.
Mandelson came under an investigation by the Met Police over the alleged passing of market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was the U.K. government’s business secretary during the 2008 financial crisis. Mandelson was also a close political advisor for former British prime minister Tony Blair.
