Lord Peter Mandelson released on bail after arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office
Lord Peter Mandelson returned home in the early hours of Tuesday morning, as Good Morning Britain reports
Lord Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former Labour minister has been accused of passing highly sensitive government information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary under former prime minister Gordon Brown.
In a statement issued just after 2am on Tuesday, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation.
“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and was taken to a London police station for interview.
“This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.
“We are not able to provide further information at this stage to prevent prejudicing the integrity of the investigation.”
Footage on Monday showed Lord Mandelson being escorted out of his house in Camden by a plain clothes police officer. The Metropolitan Police later confirmed the 72-year-old was interviewed at a London police station.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador in September after Downing Street said fresh revelations about his relationship with Epstein had emerged.
He resigned from the House of Lords earlier this month, following the release of the so-called Epstein files; however, due to parliamentary procedure, he retains his title.
The government said on Monday it was working on legislation to remove his title.
Lord Mandelson's arrest came shortly after MPs were told the first batch of documents related to the 72-year-old's appointment as US ambassador would be released in early March.
Two of his properties were previously searched by police in connection with the allegations, which surfaced following the US Department of Justice’s document dump related to Epstein last month.
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Among those documents, newly published emails appear to show Lord Mandelson passing on information relating to Gordon Brown's response to the financial crisis to Epstein.
He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
The emails appeared to have been sent to Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.
Lord Mandelson has not publicly commented in recent weeks on the Epstein files. According to the BBC, he is understood to believe he has not committed any offence.
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