Bleary-eyed Peter Mandelson returns dwelling at 2am after 9 HOUR Epstein police probe
Labour peer Peter Mandelson was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers amid allegations he emailed sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary
Peter Mandelson was photographed arriving back home following his release (Image: Marcin Nowak/LNP)
Peter Mandelson was snapped looking stony faced as he returned to his £12 million London home at 2am after his arrest over messages he sent to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The Labour peer, 72, arrived at his home in Camden following his arrest on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. Mandelson was interviewed at a police station over emails he sent to the convicted child sex offender that allegedly contained sensitive state information.
The arrest came 16 days after detectives started probing allegations and searched Mandelson’s plush multi-million home and rented farmhouse in Wiltshire. Mandelson was accused of having passed the information to Epstein during his time as business secretary.
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When Mandelson returned home, he could be seen walking up to the front door of his house and opening the door. About three hours later, Mandelson appeared to have left the property and got into the back seat of a black car that drove off.
By Tuesday morning, a large press pack was seen waiting outside Mandelson’s house. Blinds at the front of the five-storey townhouse remain closed and a light could be seen switched on at the back of the property.
The disgraced peer’s black Land Rover Discovery remains outside. Mandelson has not publicly commented on the release of the Epstein Files, that have since resulted in multiple figures being arrested, apologise or step down from their workplace roles. He became the UK ambassador to the US in February last year but was sacked from the post as further details from the files became public.
The arrest has been noted as “unusual” with policing arresting Madelson at his home near Regent’s Park in north London at about 4:30pm on Monday. At the time of the arrest, Mandelson was seen wearing a grey jumper and dark coat.
He appeared stony faced and was not handcuffed as he was snapped being led away by a plain clothes detective and put in the back of an unmarked car. Ex-Met Detective Chief Inspector David McKelvey said it was unusual to make an arrest during an ongoing investigation so late in the working day.
He noted, before Mandelson was bailed, that officers are up against the clock and are initially given 24 hours to question a suspect after arrest. He said: “By the time he gets checked in it will be seven or eight o’clock and unless they are doing a very quick turn-around, he is going to have to have eight hours sleep, which reduces the amount of time you have to interview,” he continued.
“By the time he gets checked in it will be seven or eight o’clock and unless they are doing a very quick turn-around, he is going to have to have eight hours sleep, which reduces the amount of time you have to interview.”
In a statement, Scotland Yard said a 72-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and has been taken to a London police station for interview.
