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Police are currently reviewing reports of alleged misconduct in public office following accusations that Lord Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
This development follows formal complaints lodged with the police by the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Reform UK. The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, and several Labour MPs have also voiced their support for a police investigation.
Email exchanges released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) appear to indicate that Lord Mandelson, while serving as business secretary under Gordon Brown in 2009, forwarded information to the disgraced financier.
Lord Mandelson has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding these allegations.
Metropolitan Police commander Ella Marriott stated: “We are aware of the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.”
“Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.”
“As with any matter, if new and relevant information is brought to our attention we will assess it, and investigate as appropriate.”
Earlier, Downing Street indicated that Sir Keir Starmer believes Lord Mandelson should neither hold a seat in the House of Lords nor utilize his title.
However, the prime minister’s official spokesperson clarified that he lacks the direct authority to strip the peer of his title.
Under current legal frameworks, a new law would be necessary to remove a peerage.
The government has initiated an urgent investigation into Lord Mandelson’s interactions with Epstein during his tenure as a government minister.
The peer has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since assuming the role of US ambassador in December 2024.
He was removed from the position last September after further details concerning his relationship with Epstein came to light.
On Sunday, Lord Mandelson also resigned from the Labour party, ending a four-decade association as a prominent figure.
This followed the release of additional documents by the US DoJ on Friday, which provided further details regarding his contact with Epstein.
Other emails within the released documents appear to suggest:
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, described the revelations as “shocking” and called for a comprehensive investigation by the UK government and all relevant authorities.
In a statement, Brown stated that he has requested the cabinet secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market-sensitive information from the business department during the financial crisis.
The former prime minister noted that he had previously requested the cabinet secretary to investigate information in the Epstein files pertaining to communications between Lord Mandelson and Epstein regarding asset sales in September of the previous year.
Brown indicated that no record of such communications could be found and that he is now requesting “a wider and more extensive enquiry” into the disclosure of government papers.
Addressing MPs in the House of Commons earlier, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones stated: “The undeclared exchange of funds, the passing on of government information, let alone the facts that those exchanges were to a convicted paedophile, are wholly unconscionable.”
He added that criminal investigations are the purview of the prosecution services and the police.
Jones stated that the government would collaborate with the House of Lords to modernize disciplinary procedures, enabling the removal of peers who have brought the chamber into disrepute.
He argued that updating procedures to apply to all peers is preferable to introducing complex legislation for each individual case.
Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart stated that the government “cannot hide from its responsibility in having made Mandelson its ambassador in the first place,” given that his relationship with Epstein was already known.
According to private messages viewed by BBC News, a number of Labour MPs have criticized the government’s handling of the controversy.
In a WhatsApp group for Labour MPs, a Number 10 official outlined the government’s position: “It’s right that Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and had he not done so, the party was actively looking at what action could be taken.”
One Labour MP responded: “That line on Peter Mandelson is no way strong enough.”
Another stated: “Agree. Surely had he not resigned the party would have suspended him pending expulsion given the seriousness of conduct.”
Emails released in the files indicate that Lord Mandelson, then serving as business secretary, discussed the government’s plans for a one-off tax on bankers’ bonuses with Epstein.
In an email sent eight days after the plans were announced by then-chancellor Alistair Darling in December 2009, Epstein inquired whether Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, should contact Darling.
Lord Mandelson appears to have replied, stating “Yes and mildly threaten,” before Epstein asked whether it would “make more sense to offer more for the small business fund in exchange for a reduction in tax.”
Other emails suggest that Lord Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Jeffrey Epstein during his tenure as Brown’s business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister.
In June 2009, Brown’s policy advisor, Nick Butler, sent an email to the prime minister regarding the UK’s struggling economy, advocating for “releasing value from the very substantial asset base which the government holds” and suggesting the development of an “asset sales plan.”
Butler included several individuals on the email, including Peter Mandelson. Newly released emails suggest that Mandelson subsequently forwarded the email to Epstein, adding the message: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM.”
Epstein then replied, asking: “what salable [sic] assets?”
A further internal government email, on which Mandelson was copied, was also forwarded to Epstein in August 2009, although it remains unclear who forwarded the email to the disgraced financier.
In the August 2009 email, then-government Business Minister Shriti Vadera discussed strategies to improve financial markets following the economic crash and suggested providing funds to struggling companies in exchange for a share of ownership.
In a statement announcing his resignation from the Labour party on Sunday, Lord Mandelson asserted his belief that allegations of Epstein making financial payments to him 20 years ago are false.
He has also reiterated his regret for continuing his association with Epstein after his conviction, offering an “unequivocal apology to the women and girls who suffered.”
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