Ex-British ambassador to United States Peter Mandelson freed by police
Feb. 24 (UPI) — Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, was released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday after being arrested in London on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Metropolitan Police said in a news update that it released a 72-year-old-man arrested at an address in the Camden area of north London earlier on Monday evening, pending further investigation.
The force said the man had been taken to a London police station for questioning after search warrants were executed at two addresses in Wiltshire and Camden on Feb. 6.
Mandelson is 72-years-old and owns homes in Wiltshire and Camden.
The Met launched an investigation amid allegations that Mandelson passed details of confidential government documents when he was serving as Business Secretary in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 after the latest tranche of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice show email exchanges in which Mandelson appears to share market-sensitive information.
In one email in 2009, Mandelson appeared to send Epstein information regarding Britain’s response to the then-financial crisis, including an “asset sales plan.”
In 2010, he apparently shared information about a “tax on bankers’ bonuses” and gave Epstein advance notice of a bailout package for the Euro, a day before it was announced.
The alleged emails were sent after Epstein’s conviction for sex offenses in the United States in 2008.
The BBC said it understands that Mandelson denies he acted in a criminal way or for personal financial gain in his relationship with Epstein, although he has not commented publicly in months.
Mandelson’s arrest came four days after the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested and released under investigation by Thames Valley Police in a parallel but separate misconduct in public office probe in connection with his friendship with Epstein.
Mandelson was fired as Britain’s U.S. ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September after files from the U.S. House Oversight Commttee emerged showing the “depth and extent” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
Andrew, who settled a sexual assault civil suit brought by the late Virginia Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed eight figure sum out-of-court, has also denied any wrongdoing — but has remained silent on the latest slew of allegations from 2010 and 2011 when he was Britain’s Trade Envoy.
Seven other police forces across the country are running live investigations into Epstein’s links to Britain including allegations he trafficked women and girls to and via Britain on private aircraft after Prime Minister Brown spoke about Epstein’s “Lolita Express” and its use of U.K. airports.
At least 87 flights that were related to Epstein arrived at or departed from U.K. airports between the early 1990s and 2018, according to an investigation by the BBC.
Sky Roberts and Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law, praised Britain’s proactive approach in investigating possible wrongdoing revealed in the files and criticized U.S. authorities for not doing more.
“As Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s family, we commend the British authorities for taking meaningful action and treating the Epstein files with the urgency they demand. While these arrests aren’t for the underlying exploitation, they are a crucial step toward truth and accountability,” they said in a statement Monday.
“The contrast with the continued inaction in the United States is undeniable. Survivors deserve transparency, swift investigation, and real justice, no matter who is implicated.”
