Lord Mandelson to face criminal investigation amid Epstein scandal

The development comes after it emerged today (Tuesday) that Gordon Brown gave the Metropolitan Police information in connection with Lord Peter Mandelson leaking market sensitive information to Epstein amid the 2008 financial crash.

Files released by the US Department of Justice apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing material to Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s Labour administration as it dealt with the crash and its aftermath.

The Cabinet Office has passed material to the police after an initial review of documents released as part of the so-called Epstein files found they contained “likely market-sensitive information” and official handling safeguards had been “compromised”.

Mr Brown passed similar material straight to police yesterday, just two hours after it was announced that Lord Mandelson was stepping down from the House of Lords.

Commander Ella Marriott, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Following the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK Government.

“I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government minister, for misconduct in public office offences.

“The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won’t be commenting any further at this time.”

Mr Brown said he had written to Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to provide information relating to Lord Mandelson’s “inexcusable and unpatriotic act”.

Mr Brown - who appointed Lord Mandelson to the Lords in 2008 - said: “I have today written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson’s disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods.

“I have sent Sir Mark correspondence, exchanged between myself and the Cabinet Secretary last year, and I have also passed over information arising from it that may be important in his current investigation.

“I have included the letter I sent in September 2025 asking the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers regarding the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.

“I have also included the November 2026 response from the Cabinet Secretary who said about this that ‘no records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson’s mailbox’ could be found.

“Having drawn their attention to relevant evidence, the matter now rests in the hands of the police.”

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Lord Mandelson was announced to have quit the Lords after Sir Keir Starmer threatened legislation within weeks to strip him of his title while the police assess information relating to alleged misconduct in public office.

The Prime Minister told his Cabinet that the alleged transmission of highly-sensitive government business to Epstein was “disgraceful” and Lord Mandelson had “let his country down”.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “It is right that Peter Mandelson will no longer be a member of the House of Lords.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir opened Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting by saying he was “appalled by the information that had emerged over the weekend in the Epstein files”.

“He said the alleged passing-on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged,” the spokesman said.

“The Prime Minister told Cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use the title, and said he had asked the Cabinet Secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson’s contact with Jeffrey Epstein during his time serving as a government minister.

“He said he’d made it clear the Government would co-operate with the police in any inquiries they carried out, but he said the Government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively if necessary.

“He reiterated that there was a need to move at pace.

“The Prime Minister said Peter Mandelson had let his country down.”

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Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK Government after the global financial crisis.

Lord Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers’ bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

In June 2009 he appears to have passed on what he called an “interesting note that’s gone to the PM”, an assessment by Mr Brown’s adviser Nick Butler of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.

The financier was also sent an analysis of business lending in August 2009 drawn up by minister Baroness Vadera.

The sender of the message to Epstein has been redacted, but Lord Mandelson was involved in the Government email thread.

In a Times interview conducted before the latest allegations came to light, Lord Mandelson admitted to a “lapse in judgment” over Mr Epstein’s funding of an osteopathy course for the peer’s husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009, at the time the Government was dealing with the global financial crisis.

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The files contain reference to a £10,000 transfer from Epstein.

“In retrospect, it was clearly a lapse in our collective judgment for Reinaldo to accept this offer. At the time it was not a consequential decision,” he said.

Lord Mandelson rejected the suggestion this left him open to bribery claims, with Mr Epstein lobbying him to change banker bonus rules.

The peer insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of receiving payments totalling 75,000 US dollars (around £55,000) from Epstein between 2003 and 2004 as bank details in the files released by the US Department of Justice indicated.

At Cabinet Sir Keir said: “For the public to see politicians saying they can’t recall receiving significant sums of money is just gobsmacking, causing them to lose faith in all politicians and weaken trust still further.”

Baroness MacLeod, special adviser to then chancellor Alistair Darling as the Government responded to the 2008 financial crash, said it was a “terrible breach of trust”.

She said her former boss, who died in 2023, would have been “shocked at the scale of this treachery”.

Lord Mandelson has been on a leave of absence from Parliament and his imminent departure was announced by Lord Speaker Lord Forsyth of Drumlean.

He told the upper chamber: “Given the public interest and for the convenience of the House, I’ve decided to inform the House that the clerk of the Parliaments has today received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House, effective from February 4.”

The Tories questioned Sir Keir’s judgment in appointing him as ambassador to the US – a job which ended with him being sacked in September when further details emerged of his links to Epstein.

It has also put pressure on the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney - married to Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker - who was an ally of Lord Mandelson.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Five months ago Mandelson was UK ambassador with the full confidence of the PM.

“Today he is no longer the ambassador, in Labour or a peer.

“The scandal, sleaze, and speed of his downfall only increases the scrutiny on Starmer and McSweeney’s decision to send him to Washington.”