Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the United States, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and then released on bail, according to Metropolitan Police. The 72-year-old is suspected of passing sensitive government information to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago. Mandelson does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
The arrest marks the latest fallout from a trove of more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. Messages in those files suggest Mandelson passed confidential government information to Epstein in 2009, when Mandelson held a senior British government position. The development deepens a political crisis for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson as ambassador despite his documented friendship with Epstein.
Peter Mandelson, a former British ambassador to the United States, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released on bail pending investigation, Metropolitan Police said. The 72-year-old is suspected of passing sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in custody in 2019. Mandelson does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
Plainclothes officers led Mandelson from his London home on Monday afternoon, and police released a statement early Tuesday confirming a 72-year-old man had been arrested and released on bail without initially naming him in keeping with British police practice.
Evidence and International Connections
The arrest came four days after Prince Andrew was arrested in a separate case on suspicion of a similar offense related to his friendship with Epstein. Both arrests stem from more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents the U.S. Justice Department released in January.
Documents released in January show that Mandelson passed sensitive government information to Epstein in 2009, when Mandelson held a senior position in the British government. According to the files, the material included an internal government report discussing ways the United Kingdom could raise money following the 2008 global financial crisis, including by selling off government assets. Mandelson also appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
Mandelson once called Epstein “my best pal.” Police searched Mandelson’s homes in London and western England as part of the investigation.
Political Crisis and Fallout
The arrest intensifies a political crisis for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who appointed Mandelson as ambassador to Washington at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term. Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing Mandelson maintained a friendship with Epstein following Epstein’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor.
The decision to appoint Mandelson nearly cost Starmer his job earlier this month, raising questions about his judgment. Starmer acknowledged he made a mistake and apologized to victims of Epstein, though his position remains precarious. The government pledged to begin releasing files connected to Mandelson’s appointment in early March, though his arrest may complicate the timeline.
Mandelson’s trade expertise and comfort around the ultra-rich were considered major assets when Starmer named him ambassador. In May 2025, Mandelson helped secure a trade deal that spared Britain some of the tariffs Trump imposed on countries around the world. The status of that deal is now uncertain after Trump announced a new set of global tariffs following a U.S. Supreme Court decision quashing his previous import tax order.
Decades in Power
For decades, Mandelson has been a major if contentious figure in Britain’s center-left Labour Party. He earned the nickname “Prince of Darkness” for his mastery of political intrigue. Mandelson was an architect of the Labour Party’s return to power in 1997 as centrist “New Labour” under Prime Minister Tony Blair. He served in senior government roles under Blair from 1997 to 2001, then as the European Union’s trade commissioner, then under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2008 to 2010.
Mandelson twice resigned from government during the Blair administration over allegations of financial or ethical impropriety, each time acknowledging mistakes but denying wrongdoing. Earlier this month, he resigned from the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament to which he was appointed for life in 2008. He retains the title Lord Mandelson.