U.K. police arrest ex-envoy Peter Mandelson in Epstein case

The United Kingdom’s former envoy to Washington, Peter Mandelson, was arrested and then released on Tuesday (February 24, 2026) morning over his ties to convicted paedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Mandelson was picked up by the police on suspicion of misconduct in public office relating to the time he was a business envoy in the Gordon Brown-led Labour government and allegedly shared sensitive information with Epstein. Mr. Mandelson has denied wrongdoing. His arrest comes days after the police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York and younger brother of Britain’s monarch. A press release from the Metropolitan Police referred to him as a “former government minister” and said a 72-year-old was released on bail and under investigation. Video footage showed officers escorting Mr. Mandelson out of his home on Monday afternoon and later, his return home at 2 a.m. on Tuesday. The allegations against the erstwhile Labour heavyweight emerged after the United States Department of Justice released more than three million pages of files on January 30 relating to Epstein. The release included an email suggesting Mr. Mandelson had discussed the U.K. government’s sale of assets in 2009 and a Euro bailout in 2010 just before it happened. Documents also showed that Epstein transferred $75,000 to bank accounts of Mr. Mandelson or his partner (now husband) Reinaldo Avila da Silva. The police launched a criminal investigation into Mr. Mandelson earlier this month, causing Mr. Mandelson to resign from both the House of Lords and the Labour Party. The allegations also saw the exit of two key members of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s team, with several Labour politicians calling for Mr. Starmer himself to resign over his poor judgment in appointing Mr. Mandelson as the U.K.’s Ambassador to the U.S. The former envoy was appointed to his role in Washington D.C. in February 2025, a post from which he was sacked in September after information on the depth of his links with Epstein, including photographs, emerged in the public domain. Published - February 24, 2026 12:35 am IST ### Related Topics United Kingdom / police