Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

Lord Peter Mandelson has been questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The former Labour minister was taken into custody by officers who arrived at his north London home on Monday afternoon. He was taken to a police station in an unmarked car.

Lord Mandelson has been accused of passing sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary from 2008 to 2010, when Gordon Brown was prime minister.

He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

The Metropolitan Police said he had been arrested following searches at two addresses - one in Wiltshire, where the Labour peer has another home, and Camden.

It comes four days after the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his links to Epstein. He was released the same day and remains under investigation.

How did we get here?

Lord Mandelson, 72, was sacked as the UK ambassador to the US in September over his links to Epstein.

Downing Street said he was dismissed after new information emerged about the depth of his relationship with the billionaire. He had featured in documents published by a US Congress committee, and politicians in Washington have since urged him to answer questions as part of their own investigation into Epstein.

Lord Mandelson's resignation from the House of Lords came after the US Department of Justice's latest publication of Epstein files last month.

They appeared to show emails from 2009 and 2010 in which the pair discussed details of an "asset sales plan", tax on bankers' bonuses, and an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced.

The emails appeared to be sent to Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.

In a statement at the time of his resignation from the Lords, Lord Mandelson said: "I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.

"Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me."

'Mandelson files' set to be published

The government has committed to publishing documents relating to his appointment as US ambassador.

Monday's arrest came moments after MPs were told the first tranche will be published early next month. However, the prime minister's chief secretary Darren Jones said some correspondence between Downing Street and the peer will be delayed because of the police investigation.

Sir Keir Starmer has apologised to the victims of Epstein for appointing Lord Mandelson to the post.

The prime minister has said he lied during the vetting process about his connections to Epstein before taking the ambassador role and that the documents to be released would show this.

Minister Jacqui Smith, who was in Mr Brown's cabinet alongside Lord Mandelson, told Sky News: "As soon as Keir Starmer understood what the reality of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was, he sacked him, in the middle of the night."

Badenoch: PM has terrible judgement

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the arrest is "the defining moment of Keir Starmer's premiership".

"It's a matter of when [Starmer] goes, not if he goes," she said.

"I asked him if he had full confidence in Peter Mandelson, just a few months ago, and he said yes, despite all of these allegations being known, only to see the man arrested shows that the prime minister has terrible judgement."

Mr Brown declined to comment on the arrest.

(c) Sky News 2026: Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office