Peter Mandelson was captured on video being taken into custody.
A former British ambassador to the United States was arrested Feb. 23 after the U.S. government released emails between the ambassador and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Peter Mandelson, 72, the former ambassador to the United States, was seen in footage captured by the BBC being escorted into a police vehicle by officers in the London borough of Camden.
“Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a statement. “He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview.”
The spokesperson said no further information could be provided at this stage “to prevent prejudicing the integrity of the investigation.”
It was not clear if Mandelson had retained an attorney.
Misconduct in public office can land a sentence of up to life in prison. It is brought when a public officer “wilfully neglects to perform their duty and/or wilfully misconducts themselves” to a degree that abuses the public trust, and absent “reasonable excuse or justification,” according to prosecutorial guidance.
Mandelson was fired from his ambassador role in 2025, after emails showed his relationship with Epstein was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment,” the British Foreign Office said at the time. Mandelson also recently resigned as a UK lawmaker, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer apologized for appointing him.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008. He died in U.S. prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.
In one of the emails, Mandelson wrote after Epstein’s conviction that “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.”
Mandelson told The Times in a recent interview that none of the files “indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanor on my part.”
More missives between the pair were made public by the U.S. government in January, including messages in 2009 celebrating Epstein’s release from prison.
In another email, sent that year, Mandelson forwarded Epstein a message that had gone to the prime minister.
