Lord Mandelson released on bail after arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office

The Metropolitan Police says Lord Mandelson has been released on bail just hours after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Monday.

A 72-year-old man was released by the police after further inquiry, according to the department. Lord Mandelson returned to his London home at 02:00 GMT on the BBC at 0:00 GMT.

On Monday, Lord Mandelson was arrested at an address in Camden, north London, and was taken to Wandsworth police station for questioning.

Earlier this month, the force launched an investigation into allegations that, although he was serving as a cabinet minister, Lord Mandelson gave market-sensitive government information to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The arrest was made on Monday at two addresses in Wiltshire and Camden, following search warrants, according to a police statement.

Lord Mandelson has not spoken out in recent weeks about the Epstein files, but the BBC has learned that his position has not been criminally committed and that he was not motivated by financial gain.

Lord Mandelson took over as the British Ambassador to the United States in February 2025, on February 20, but was fired in September after Downing Street announced new details about his friendship with Epstein had surfaced.

The government has stated that it expects to publish the first documents relating to Lord Mandelson's appointment in "early March.

Bridget Phillipson told BBC Breakfast that the government's "intention is to hand over information, but we must tread with caution to ensure that no papers we release don't jeopardise an ongoing police probe.

"There is a live probe, and if that happens, it will be completely irresponsible to do anything that could jeopardize their important work, but we are committed to transparency around all of this.

Lord Mandelson was seen being led away from his London home by plainclothes police who escorted him into an unmarked vehicle on Monday afternoon.

According to the BBC, his arrest was carried out by officers from the Met's central specialist crime branch.

Consultations between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service are ongoing.

Following the US Department of Justice's release of a slew of documents last month, including emails between him and Epstein, Lord Mandelson was uncovered.

Lord Mandelson appears to have accepted an inquiry by an advisor to then Prime Minister Gordon Brown on reform recommendations, which also included an "asset sales plan.

On the day before it was announced in 2010, he appeared to discuss a tax on bankers' compensation and confirm a likely bailout scheme for the Euro.

The family of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault, thank Lord Mandelson, who said they

commend the British authorities for taking meaningful action and treating the Epstein files with the urgency they require," the family said in response to Lord Mandelsons' Andrew has denied any wrongdoing in his friendships with Epstein.

The comparison with the continuing inaction in the United States is undeniable,

Sky and Amanda Roberts said in a tweet. Survivors are entitled to transparency, swift probe, and true justice, no matter who is implicated.

According to BBC News, the government will continue to tell investigators which papers will be released after it was previously announced that an arrest may have ramifications with the process.

The government still needs to be able to release documents, in the hopes that they will back up Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's assertion that Lord Mandelson had lied during his vetting process.

Lord Mandelson's deposition, according to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, was "the turning point of Sir Keir's premiership.

Watching the man who was appointed to the highest position in our diplomatic service being arrested by police is an image that I suspect will have for many, many years to come,

Badenoch said.

As part of a Congress probe into Epstein, US politicians have urged Lord Mandelson to answer questions.

He began working for Labour in the 1980s, playing a vital role in the New Labour movement and Sir Tony Blair's landslide election victory in 1997.