Two properties connected to Lord Peter Mandelson in north London and Wiltshire were searched by Metropolitan Police officers as part of an inquiry into alleged misconduct in public office, the force said. The investigation followed the release of documents by the US Department of Justice that prompted claims Mandelson passed market-sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Met said Mandelson had not been arrested and that enquiries were ongoing. The BBC understands Lord Mandelson, 72, was at his Camden address when officers began the search. Officers were seen briefly searching a car outside the property and later removing several boxes from the building. At the Wiltshire property, police entered without force, took unfolded archive boxes and examined outbuildings.
Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment. The BBC understands his position is that he did not act criminally and was not motivated by financial gain. He has previously expressed regret for his association with Epstein and issued an apology “unequivocally to the women and the girls who suffered”.
The allegations centre on emails and other communications from 2008 that were included in the US document release. Those records appear to show Mandelson, then business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government, discussing Treasury plans for a one-off tax on bankers’ bonuses with Epstein. Two days after that exchange, further communications are said to have taken place. An email from Epstein reportedly asked whether “jamie” should call then-chancellor Alistair Darling “one more time”, a likely reference to Jamie Dimon, then chief executive of JPMorgan. Mandelson appears to have replied that Dimon should call again and suggested he should “mildly threaten” the chancellor.
Other messages included in the release indicate Mandelson may have given Epstein advance notice of a proposed €500bn EU rescue package for the euro. The UK ultimately did not contribute to that bailout, although Mr Darling was in Brussels for related negotiations.
A UK government spokesperson said ministers stood ready to provide any assistance the police required. Misconduct in public office is an offence typically applied to public servants and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Downing Street said it would publish documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US. The BBC has been told the material could include close to 100,000 electronic records. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned the Intelligence and Security Committee that a “very significant volume of material” will need reviewing, but said making the documents available to Parliament was important. Publication may be delayed after the government sought to withhold some files on national security grounds and the Metropolitan Police requested redactions to avoid interfering with its criminal inquiry.
Sir Keir has apologised to Epstein’s victims, saying he was “sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies”. Former prime minister Gordon Brown said he “greatly regrets” appointing Mandelson, taking personal responsibility and saying he had been told Mandelson’s record was “unblemished” with no reports linking him to Epstein.
The revelations have provoked anger within Parliament. Labour MPs criticised both Mandelson’s alleged conduct and the prime minister’s decision to appoint him. Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson said Sir Keir had handled the situation “appallingly” and should “consider resigning”. Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, called the appointment an “incredible misjudgement”, while Stroud MP Simon Opher suggested the prime minister should change his advisers and named chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who is known to have been close to Mandelson.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir’s position was “untenable” and called for a vote of no confidence. In the days following the revelations, Lord Mandelson quit the Labour Party and three days later retired from the House of Lords.