British police have launched a criminal inquiry into Peter Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office linked to his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Metropolitan Police said detectives reviewed material and concluded it met the threshold for a full investigation into the 72-year-old former Cabinet minister and former UK ambassador to the United States.
Commander Ella Marriott of the Met said the force has opened an investigation into a 72-year-old former government minister on suspected misconduct in public office. While that offence can carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the police stressed that opening an investigation does not mean Mandelson will necessarily be arrested, charged or convicted.
The probe follows the U.S. Justice Department’s release of a large cache of Epstein-related documents—reported to total more than three million pages—that include emails and messages between Mandelson and Epstein. British officials said those files appear to show Mandelson may have shared market-sensitive information about the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, and they passed the material to police for assessment.
Mandelson, who held senior roles in past Labour governments and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2008, resigned from the Lords effective Wednesday and left the Labour Party earlier, saying he did not want to cause further embarrassment to the party. The Lord Speaker, Michael Forsyth, said Mandelson had notified officials of his intention to retire. The government also drew up legislation intended to expel him from the House of Lords and remove his noble title—an action that has not been used in more than a century.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who earlier this year removed Mandelson from the role of UK ambassador to Washington amid concerns over his ties to Epstein, told Cabinet he was appalled by the new revelations and worried more details could emerge. A government spokesman said ministers had provided police with an assessment that the documents contained likely market-sensitive information that should not have left government.
Items cited from the released files include:
– Bank records that appear to show three payments totaling $75,000 in 2003–2004 to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Mandelson has said he does not recall receiving those funds and will seek to verify the documents’ authenticity.
– A 2009 payment of £10,000 from Epstein to da Silva for an osteopathy course; Mandelson told The Times he regretted that da Silva accepted the offer, calling it a lapse in judgment.
– In 2009, while Mandelson was business secretary, exchanges in which he appears to have told Epstein he would lobby other ministers to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
– That same year, Mandelson is said to have sent Epstein an internal government report outlining post-crisis options to raise funds, noting that an item had gone to the prime minister.
– In May 2010, a message from Mandelson to Epstein referenced “sources tell me 500 b euro bailout” hours before European governments announced a €500 billion plan to support the euro.
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to state charges related to soliciting a minor and served an 18-month sentence; he maintained contacts with Mandelson after that conviction and later died in U.S. custody in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Mandelson’s continued association with Epstein after his conviction was deeply disturbing and a betrayal of Epstein’s victims and of two prime ministers, Gordon Brown and Keir Starmer.
An email seeking comment was sent to Mandelson via the House of Lords office.