Former British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, was arrested by London police on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Monday, a development that came after revelations over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 72-year-old Mandelson was fired from the most respectable posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September 2025, when the depth of his relationship with Epstein came to light, Reuters reported.
The former British ambassador’s arrest is the second in connection with the Epstein files. Last week, King Charles’ younger brother and former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over separate allegations. Meanwhile, the former Duke of York has always dismissed any wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, police launched a criminal investigation into Mandelson after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
While the arrest does not imply any guilt, it does suspect a crime.
“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview,” the police statement said. “This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas,” it added.
Mandelson, Epstein closer than known
Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the US Department of Justice in late January as part of the Epstein files’ documents, showed that the two men had a closer relationship than was known to the public.
Mandelson had also shared information with the convicted sex offender when he was a minister in former PM Gordon Brown’s administration in 2009.
Peter Mandelson resigned from Starmer’s Labour Party earlier this month and stepped back from his position in parliament’s upper chamber amid the ongoing probe into Epstein links. He has previously admitted that he “very deeply” regretted his association with the convicted sex offender.
Earlier this month, police also searched Mandelson’s homes in London and west England.
Mandelson’s career in UK politics
Peter Mandelson’s political journey in Britain has had its share of turbulence. He rose to fame in the mid-to-late 1990s as one of the architects of former British PM Tony Blair’s New Labour project.
However, Mandelson was forced to resign twice from the cabinet — first in 1998 for failing to disclose a home loan he had taken from a colleague, and second in 2001, after he faced allegations of trying to influence a passport application.
Mandelson was reappointed as a minister in Brown’s Labour government from 2008 to 2010. He eventually returned to public office when Starmer made him ambassador to the US in late 2024.
His charge as ambassador to the US was initially seen as a shrewd move, with him registering an early win by ensuring that Britain was the first country to reach a trade deal with the US to lower some of the global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
However, a few months later, Mandelson was fired after DoJ documents disclosed his close ties to Epstein.
Starmer has reportedly said that Peter Mandelson lied about the depth of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein during the vetting process.
To be clear, a conviction for misconduct in a public office amounts to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The conviction must be handled in a Crown Court, which only deals with serious criminal offences.
