Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to US who has links to Epstein, arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

Joe Mayes and Ellen Milligan, Bloomberg News on Feb 23, 2026

Published in News & Features

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LONDON — United Kingdom police arrested Labour Party grandee Peter Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they arrested a 72-year-old man in Camden on Monday who was then taken to a London police station for interview. “This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas,” a police spokesperson said. They didn’t name Mandelson, 72.

The arrest comes after emails released in late January by the U.S. Department of Justice allegedly showed Mandelson disclosed market-sensitive information to the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.K. government minister. The police began a criminal probe into the matter earlier this month, searching two properties linked to Mandelson.

A lawyer for Mandelson declined to comment.

The arrest deepens the crisis that’s engulfed Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his decision in late 2024 to appoint Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States, despite his known links to Epstein. In the wake of fresh revelations about the former envoy, the premier’s chief of staff, communications chief and Cabinet secretary all quit their posts, while some Labour MPs have publicly called for Starmer himself to go.

The prime minister had brought back Mandelson — who had extensive experience in trade — to help manage U.S. ties after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his ensuing tariff war. Starmer then fired him in September after a Bloomberg News investigation revealed the depths of his ties to Epstein, but has nevertheless faced intensified criticism over his judgment in hiring Mandelson the first place.

In the House of Commons on Feb. 4, Starmer was forced to concede that Mandelson’s long-term relationship with Epstein had been mentioned during the vetting procedure that preceded his appointment as U.S. envoy.

The government has also been forced to release documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment, with Parliament’s cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee playing a role in reviewing papers the government wants to withhold due to national security concerns. No papers have yet been published, amid calls from the police not to release anything that might prejudice their probe.

The latest Epstein files — totaling about 3 million pages posted on the Justice Department — appeared to show Mandelson forwarding internal Downing Street emails about tax policy proposals to Epstein while serving as a member of then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet in 2009. He appended the comment: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM.”

The private memo was drafted by a senior adviser in Brown’s office on June 13 that year — the same day Mandelson shared it. The note proposed tax incentives to encourage private-sector investment after the financial crisis, as well as the possibility of making 20 billion pounds ($27.4 billion) of asset sales to reduce government debt.

In another email, Mandelson appeared to tip Epstein off that Brown planned to resign as Labour leader and prime minister hours before he actually did so. “Finally got him to go today ...” he wrote on May 10, 2010.