Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Monday. The 72 year old former Labour minister was taken from an address in Camden to a London police station for interview. Two of his properties, in Wiltshire and Camden, had previously been searched by police in connection with the allegations.
The accusations centre on claims that Mandelson passed sensitive government information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary. The allegations surfaced following the US Department of Justice’s document release related to Epstein last month, which included a trove of emails and communications.
As part of the so called Epstein files, emails from 2009 appear to show Lord Mandelson sharing an assessment by Gordon Brown’s adviser regarding potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan.” He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
The arrest of a former cabinet minister is a significant development by any measure. Mandelson was one of the most powerful figures in New Labour, a close ally of Tony Blair, and a man whose political career survived two previous resignations from the cabinet. Whether it can survive this remains to be seen.
The Epstein case continues to cast a long shadow across the political establishment on both sides of the Atlantic. The full scale of connections between the disgraced financier and public figures is still being uncovered, and Mandelson’s arrest suggests the Metropolitan Police are taking these revelations seriously. What comes next will be watched closely by anyone who still believes accountability applies to those at the top as much as everyone else.