Former UK ambassador to U.S. Peter Mandelson released on bail after arrest

Police in Britain said Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, has been released on bail after being arrested as part of a misconduct in public office investigation linked to the Epstein files.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police in a statement said, “A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation.

“He was detained at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February, and taken to a London police station for questioning. The arrest followed the execution of search warrants at two properties in the Wiltshire and Camden areas. We are unable to provide further details at this time in order to protect the integrity of the investigation,” Metropolitan Police said. 

Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain's diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein started to become clear. 

He has previously denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Mandelson was filmed leaving his central London home on the 23 February in the afternoon. He was accompanied by plainclothes officers wearing body cameras, before being driven away in a car.

A separate statement later said he had been released on bail, pending further investigation, and he was seen returning home at around 0200 GMT.

The arrest means police suspect a crime has been committed but does not imply any guilt.

There was no immediate response from Mandelson's lawyers.

Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government passed on communications between the former ambassador and Epstein.

Earlier on Monday afternoon the government said that documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as U.S. ambassador would be published in early March.

Mandelson and Epstein emails

Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the U.S. Department of Justice in late January, showed the two men had a closer relationship than had been publicly known, and Mandelson had shared information with the financier when he was a minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government in 2009.

Mandelson, who this month resigned from Starmer's Labour Party and quit his position in parliament's upper chamber, has previously said he "very deeply" regretted his association with Epstein. But he has not commented publicly or responded to messages seeking comment on the latest revelations.

Mandelson's homes in London and west England were searched by police earlier this month.

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