Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the United States, was arrested by London police on Monday on charges of misconduct while in public office. The 72-year-old was arrested in Camden after search warrants were put forward for two addresses in Camden and Wiltshire areas.
Mandelson was let go from his position in the diplomatic service in September when the extent of his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019. He was found dead in his prison cell shortly after.
Law enforcement commenced their investigation into Mandelson's case after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared with them the communications between Mandelson and Epstein.
"Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office," London's Metropolitan Police had said in a statement.
News agencies reported on up to 100 uncovered e-mails implying that Mandelson may have been aware of Epstein's activities involving sexual misconduct. This was evidenced by an e-mail the former sent the latter a letter saying, he "thought the world of him" while he was serving time in a Florida jail in June 2008 for soliciting sex from a minor.
Reports also revealed that he called Epstein his "best pal" in a a collection of tributes to the indicted sex trafficker.
“I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done and I regret very much that I fell for his lies.” Mandelson had said in an interview with 'The Sun' publication.
Mandelson is not the only high profile figure in the UK facing arrests over their association with Jeffrey Epstein as former British Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also arrested for sharing confidential information with Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy.
Virgina Giuffre, who died by suicide in April 2025, was one of Epstein's victims who claimed that he had trafficked her to Andrew, who had sexually assualted her several times when she was 17, according to The Guardian.
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