Peter Mandelson, former UK ambassador to the United States, is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police concerning an allegation of criminal misconduct in public office.
The allegation centres on evidence that Mandelson passed sensitive, confidential information – received in his capacity as a minister – to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
If that is true, then it is, of course, not the first time that ministerial confidences have been breached. However, what makes this case potentially serious is the possibility that the information passed to Epstein was known to be likely to assist Epstein financially and that this favour may have been bound up with a relationship between the men in which Epstein conferred financial benefits on Mandelson.
