Former British top diplomat Peter Mandelson has been released on bail following his arrest by plainclothes police in north London, according to reports from Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Mandelson was reportedly arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of "misconduct in public office" and questioned by police before being released on bail early Tuesday morning at around 2 AM when he returned to his London home.
The investigation was reportedly initiated earlier this month by London police after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government forwarded communications between the former ambassador and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, Mandelson's contact with Epstein was more extensive than he had previously disclosed, and he allegedly shared market-sensitive information with the billionaire while serving as a minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government.
Mandelson has reportedly denied any wrongdoing through statements to British media outlets The Guardian and BBC.
Mandelson, who recently resigned from the Labour Party and left his position in the British House of Lords, has reportedly denied any wrongdoing through statements to British media outlets The Guardian and BBC. The investigation comes in the wake of similar actions against former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was also reportedly arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct related to sending confidential documents to Epstein before being released the same day.