Feb. 23 (UPI) — British police on Monday arrested former Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Mandelson was taken into custody and interviewed at a London police station about his relationship with deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The former ambassador has been under investigation since Feb. 4 over allegations that he leaked confidential government information to Epstein, which followed revelations last September about his friendship with the disgraced financier.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” Metropolitan Police said in a news release. “He was arrested at an address in Camden … This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”
Police in Britain generally do not release the names of people they are investigating after an arrest, but the description matches Mandelson, and video footage of his arrest showed him being driven away from his home after his arrest, The Guardian reported.
Mandelson’s arrest comes four days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Britain’s former Prince Andrew, was arrested and later released — on his 66th birthday — on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid a renewed probe into his ties with Epstein.
Both investigations have been spurred by the release of documents over the last several months by the U.S. Department of Justice that include emails, videos and pictures that offer a glimpse into the relationships Epstein had with a wide swath of politicians, businesspeople and other prominent individuals while he was allegedly trafficking and sexually abusing young women and children.
Mandelson was a British cabinet minister from 2008 to 2010 when he allegedly passed information to Epstein during the global banking crisis, NPR reported, noting that he has not been accused of sexual misconduct.
