Lord Peter Mandelson’s properties are being searched by police as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office following accusations relating to his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Several officers were seen entering the peer’s address near Regent’s Park, central London, and Scotland Yard said another warrant was also being carried out at a Wiltshire address on Friday afternoon.
A Metropolitan Police investigation was launched following allegations that Lord Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the paedophile financier while he was business secretary during the financial crisis.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Sewart confirmed that officers from the force’s central specialist crime team were searching two addresses, “one in the Wiltshire area, and another in the Camden area”.
“The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man,” she said.
“He has not been arrested and inquiries are ongoing.”
Several people wearing body cameras entered Lord Mandelson’s Regent’s Park address on Friday afternoon, with a blue box and a large bag later seen being taken into the house.
One marked police car and five unmarked cars were seen parked outside his Wiltshire address, which had lights on inside and an open garage door.
Documents released by the US department of justice have laid bare the apparent extent of Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein in recent days, as well as leading to accusations relating to his time in government.
Emails from 2009 appear to show Lord Mandelson pass on an assessment by Gordon Brown’s adviser of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.
He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
Lord Mandelson has yet to speak publicly, but the BBC has said it understood he maintains he did not act criminally and that his actions were not for personal gain.
The UK Government has said it “stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need”.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US last year and faces calls to sack his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who many Labour MPs blame for the decision.
In a speech on Thursday, the Prime Minister accused the peer of lying about his relationship with Epstein during his vetting for the UK’s most prestigious diplomatic posting abroad.
He said “none of us knew the depth of the darkness” of the association between the two men when the peer was appointed and apologised to Epstein’s victims for believing Lord Mandelson’s “lies”.
The extent of what was known about the relationship is expected to be revealed when documents relating to the peer’s appointment are published following a motion in Parliament demanding their release.
Facing the threat of a mutiny among Labour MPs, Downing Street agreed on Wednesday to cede control of the release of documents relating to the appointment to Parliament’s security watchdog.
Publication of the full tranche of documents could take some time, as the Intelligence and Security Committee must review any items that the Government wishes to withhold for national security reasons.
The Metropolitan Police has also asked for some documents to be withheld, claiming it could jeopardise its criminal investigation.
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