Police Release Former UK Ambassador to US Peter Mandelson After Arrest in Epstein Probe

The high-profile investigation has intensified after U.S. authorities published millions of Epstein-related records, prompting arrests of senior British figures

Former UK Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson outside his home in London on Feb. 21, 2026. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

British police said on Feb. 24 that Peter Mandelson, the UK’s former ambassador to the United States, has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in a widening investigation stemming from his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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

Police did not name the suspect, in keeping with standard UK practice. He was previously identified as Mandelson, 72, a former senior government minister and diplomat. He was fired as ambassador to the United States in September 2025 after emails emerged confirming he continued corresponding with Epstein following his 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor.

Mandelson was filmed on Feb. 23 being escorted from his London home in Camden by plainclothes officers and placed into a police vehicle. He was taken to a London police station for questioning.

The arrest came days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, long known as Prince Andrew, was detained by Thames Valley Police in a misconduct investigation tied to newly released Epstein documents.

The high-profile arrests are among the most dramatic developments to follow the release last month by the U.S. Department of Justice of more than 3 million pages of documents connected to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges: one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and released in 2009.

On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide the following month while awaiting trial.

British authorities said earlier this month that they had opened an investigation into a 72-year-old former government minister on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The Metropolitan Police later confirmed that search warrants were executed at properties in Wiltshire and Camden as part of what they described as a complex inquiry.

The misconduct allegation centers on whether sensitive UK government information may have been improperly shared with Epstein during Mandelson’s time in public office. In the UK, misconduct in public office is an offense that can carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

It was not immediately clear whether Mandelson has retained legal representation.

In this photo taken from a video by Sky News, the UK's former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is seen in a vehicle leaving a police station in London in the early hours of  Feb. 24, 2026. Sky News Exclusive via AP

Emails Under Scrutiny

Mandelson was dismissed from his ambassadorial role in 2025 after the release of emails that the British Foreign Office said showed his relationship with Epstein was “materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.” He subsequently resigned as a lawmaker, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized for appointing him.

In one email sent after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, Mandelson wrote to the financier, “I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.”

Additional messages made public by U.S. authorities in January included correspondence in 2009 marking Epstein’s release from prison. In another email from that year, Mandelson forwarded to Epstein a message that had originally been sent to the prime minister.

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Mandelson said that none of the released files “indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanor on my part.”

In this photo taken from video by Sky News, the UK's former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is seen in a vehicle leaving a police station in London in the early hours of Feb. 24, 2026. Sky News Exclusive via AP

In an earlier interview with The Sun newspaper, Mandelson expressed regret for his friendship with Epstein and said he felt sympathy for victims of the sex offender.

“I regret very, very deeply indeed, carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done,” Mandelson said, while characterizing his association with Epstein as “an albatross around” his neck.

On Feb. 3, a UK Cabinet spokesman said that, following an initial review of the latest tranche of Epstein documents, British authorities had passed material to the police after finding items that contained “likely market-sensitive information” and that official handling safeguards had been “compromised.”

Subsequently, Starmer told his Cabinet that Mandelson’s alleged passing of highly-sensitive government business to Epstein was “disgraceful” and said that the former ambassador had “let his country down.”

Guy Birchall, Rachel Roberts, and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.