Kensington and Chelsea Council investigating Lord Mandelson for relieving himself in opposition to a backyard wall
Disgraced Labour grandee Peter Mandelson could find out the true cost of ‘spending a penny’ after he was caught short in public last week.
The former US Ambassador faces a fine if he is found to have been in breach of local by-laws after he urinated in the street in upmarket Notting Hill, west London.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council has now confirmed it is investigating the incident after the Daily Mail first broke the story of Lord Mandelson’s late-night incident.
Councillor Johnny Thalassites, the London council’s lead member for environment and planning, said it was ‘unacceptble’ for people to treat public spaces as a personal toilet.
He said: ‘We are aware of images appearing to show a prominent politician caught short on one of our streets and are investigating whether an offence has been committed.
‘While we appreciate that nature can call at the most inconvenient moments, we are proud of our borough’s clean streets and amazing spaces and it is unacceptable for anyone to treat them as a urinal.’
Urinating in public is an offence under the Public Order Act 1986.
It can be dealt with by way of a warning, but it can also lead to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.
Peter Mandelson was caught relieving himself against a garden wall after a late-night visit to George Osborne’s Notting Hill home last week
Lord Mandelson had arrived at the former Tory chancellor’s £10million townhouse three hours earlier, carrying an upmarket bottle of Chilean wine
Pictured: Lord Mandelson and former Tory chancellor Mr Osborne in 2010
The severity of the offence is often determined by the number of people in proximity at the time – so urinating in public at a festival might be dealt with more robustly than if it occurred in a back alley.
Police may also take action if the act includes other offending, such as indecent exposure or criminal damage.
Generally, urinating in public is covered by local authority bylaws.
Pictures showed Lord Mandelson going to the loo al fresco just before 11pm while waiting for an Uber after visiting the home of former Tory chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday last week.
After leaving the townhouse, he walked a short distance to the street corner before furtively undoing his zip and urinating against a brick wall.
An onlooker reported he looked ‘worse for wear’ and managed to splash his upmarket trainers.
The wall belongs to Mr Osborne’s neighbour James Reed, the tycoon behind Reed Recruitment who has been critical of Labour’s economic policies.
Mr Reed told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m surprised that whichever of my neighbours he happened to be visiting didn’t offer him a toilet. It doesn’t seem very diplomatic.’
The tenant of a nearby flat added: ‘We have to put up with this sort of revolting behaviour during the Notting Hill Carnival.
‘It’s a shame to see that people still feel entitled to urinate in the street here three months later, and quite outrageous that the person responsible should be a peer of the realm.’
Lord Mandelson later said: ‘I can only offer my profuse apologies. I was stood up by two Uber drivers and kept waiting in the street for half an hour and was bursting.
‘There is no disguising my embarrassment.’
Lord Mandelson lost his ambassadorial role in Washington in September over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Emails revealed Epstein had remained friends with the Labour peer until late 2016, eight years after pleading guilty to child sex offences.
It was the third time Mandelson had been sacked in his political career, having been a keen ally of Tony Blair during the New Labour years.
