Peter Mandelson has been arrested by police at his London home and taken into custody as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed a 72-year-old man was arrested on Monday afternoon following searches at two properties in London and Wiltshire.

Detectives arrived at Mandelson's Regent's Park address at around 4:15pm in two unmarked vehicles.

After spending around half an hour inside, he was seen leaving the property and getting into a police car flanked by officers.

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said: 'Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

'He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview.

'This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.'

The arrest comes a fortnight after officers searched Mandelson's homes in London and Wiltshire.

He had been spotted at both addresses in recent days after keeping a low profile following the release of the second batch of Epstein files.

The Epstein files have shown Lord Mandelson sharing lewd and off-the-cuff messages with the late child abuser, including joking about 'well-hung young men' when he was a Cabinet minister.

Earlier in February police officers arrived outside Mandelson's £7.6million house near Regent's Park - which the politician bought in 2011 following advice from Epstein.

The officers knocked on the door and entered the house, with one of them wearing what appeared to be a small body camera.

The officers were seen collecting items from their car, including a blue box and a large bag, before re-entering the property.

Lord Mandelson's arrest comes days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was taken into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

One email, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded by Andrew five minutes after being sent by his then-special adviser, Amir Patel.

Another, on Christmas Eve 2010, appeared to send Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

He was released on Thursday evening after 12 hours in custody. The former Duke of York has previously denied any wrongdoing.

The Metropolitan Police earlier this month launched an investigation following allegations that Lord Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown's government during the financial crisis.

Scotland Yard said its probe into Lord Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office would 'take some time' after officers finished searching his homes in London and Wiltshire.

Lord Mandelson has denied the Epstein files show he broke any laws or acted for personal gain. He has repeatedly said he regrets his friendship with Epstein.

A stream of high-profile lawyers have also been seen visiting his home in recent weeks, including Ian Burton KC, who has previously represented Kevin Spacey, Sir Cliff Richard, Max Clifford and Mohamed Al-Fayed.

He was previously hired by Sir Cliff Richard in 2014, after an allegation of sexual assault was made against him. The allegations were dropped, and the singer was never charged or arrested.

The top lawyer also advised Max Clifford following his arrest on indecent assault charges. The celebrity publicist was eventually convicted and jailed for eight years.

It comes after MPs were told the first tranche of documents related to Lord Mandelson's appointment as the US ambassador is expected to be released within weeks.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told the Commons that the first release demanded by MPs on February 4 would happen 'very shortly in early March'.

Documents released in the US Epstein Files showed he leaked information to the billionaire child abuser while he was a government minister during the Blair era.

That led to calls for details of how he came to be made the UK's top official in Washington last year to be made public.

However, shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood criticised the delay, saying it would mean a month or so had passed since a so-called 'humble address' was passed by MPs - including Labour - to force the government to act.

'That is not a polite suggestion, it is a formal commend from parliament to the executive,' he said.

'Three weeks later the government's progress moves with the urgency of a tired sloth on a Bank Holiday Monday.'

Lord Mandelson earlier this month bowed to public pressure and resigned his seat in the House of Lords.

His former lobbying business collapsed into administration last Friday after an exodus of clients following revelations about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Global Counsel, which has offices in cities including London, Berlin, Doha and Washington DC, announced it had stopped trading - with the majority of its 80-strong UK staff made redundant.

The Metropolitan Police earlier this month launched an investigation following allegations that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary in Gordon Brown's government during the financial crisis.

Scotland Yard said its probe into Lord Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office would 'take some time' after officers finished searching his homes in London and Wiltshire.

Lord Mandelson has denied the Epstein files show he broke any laws or acted for personal gain. He has repeatedly said he regrets his friendship with Epstein.

Sir Keir is facing the worst crisis of his 18-month premiership following the revelations about Lord Mandelson's friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Many Labour MPs have been openly questioning Sir Keir's chances of remaining in Downing Street amid the scandal that has engulfed his Government.

It ultimately led to the resignation of Morgan McSweeney earlier this month - viewed as a 'mentee' of Lord Mandelson - over No10's decision to appoint the ex-Cabinet minister as US ambassador.

Sir Keir has now lost two chiefs of staff during his time in Downing Street, following the acrimonious exit of Sue Gray in October 2024.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15585451/peter-mandelson-appointment-ambassador-files.html

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