Feb 7, 2026, 1:22 p.mFeb 7, 2026, 1:22 p.m
According to police, the investigation against former British minister Peter Mandelson in the Epstein scandal is “complex” and requires “extensive further evidence collection and analysis”. In a statement on Saturday, investigators said they had completed searches at two addresses.
It was said that they were carried out in connection with an investigation against a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office. According to media reports, it is Mandelson. “He has not been arrested and the investigation is ongoing,” the police statement said.
Starmer distances himself
The recently published documents from the files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once again suggested a close friendship between Mandelson and the US entrepreneur. Email histories are also said to show that Mandelson passed on sensitive information to Epstein during the financial and economic crisis. The politician has not yet commented on these allegations.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has distanced himself from Mandelson several times in recent days. He was appointed British ambassador to the USA in February 2025. Starmer says he was unaware of the close relationship between Mandelson and Epstein at the time.
Former Prime Minister feels “betrayed” by Mandelson
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also feels “sad, angry, betrayed, let down” after the Epstein revelations about his then economics minister Peter Mandelson.
“It was a complete betrayal of his colleagues and the job he did, and of course it was also a betrayal of the country.”
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
“There is no doubt that huge economic damage could have been and may have been caused,” Brown told the BBC. Mandelson was part of Brown’s cabinet from 2008. According to Brown, the messages that he is said to have written to Epstein during this time show that he was planning a career outside the government during this time. “It was a complete betrayal of his colleagues and the job he did and of course it was a betrayal of the country,” Brown told the BBC.
Gordon Brown described his Labor colleague Starmer as a man of integrity and “seriousness” who made a mistake but stood by it. “He wants to do the right thing,” said the former prime minister. Now it is time to draw the right conclusions from what happened.
Mandelson had already lost his ambassadorship last year because of the Epstein scandal, and he recently resigned from the ruling Labor party and gave up his seat in the upper house of parliament. (sda/dpa)