Andrew and Mandelson ‘ought to be investigated for treason over Epstein hyperlinks’, MP calls for
Police are probing allegations that both Andy and Mandy committed misconduct in a public office, but a former security minister believes parliament should carry out its own investigation
Andrew should be investigated for treason, an MP has demanded(Image: BBC.com)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson should be investigated for treason over their links to Jeffrey Epstein, a senior MP has demanded. Ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat is calling for a special committee to investigate the Epstein scandals.
It would made up of MPs, peers and retired judges who would have the power to summon witnesses and demand documents. And he said it should see if new laws are needed to beef up scrutiny of the monarchy.
Mr Tugendhat told The Sun on Sunday: “This affair raises urgent questions about foreign influence and national security. What did the Palace know? What did ministers know? What else is being hidden?”
He said such questions go beyond what a court could reasonably consider, meaning Parliament must question what it means for the country. He added: “If the worst is proved, do we need to revisit treason laws written 700 years ago?”
Both Andrew and Mandelson are being investigated by police over allegations of misconduct in public office. The ex-Duke is accused of passing on confidential reports from his time as trade envoy. He was arrested on Thursday night and released under investigation.
Meanwhile Mandelson is accused of emailing market-sensitive information to Epstein while a minister in Gordon Brown’s Government. He has not been arrested, but police probing the claims have searched houses linked to the former Labour peer.
Mr Tugendhat said the police investigations are “more than a scandal” and suggest a possibility of deep corruption demanding more than a legal process as “it goes to the heart of our state”.
He added: “Neither man is being investigated for simply knowing the convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, but what that relationship enabled. If these accusations are true, they expose something rotten at the top of the State.
“If they are not, the public needs proof that the guardrails are strong. Either way, Parliament must send a clear message – Britain will defend itself from every threat, even if it comes from the very top.”
The last person convicted of treason was Jaswant Singh Chail, who entered Windsor Castle with a crossbow in a plot to kill the then Queen on Christmas Day in 2021. He was jailed for nine years in 2023. The death penalty for treason was abolished in 1998.
The scandal engulfing Mandelson saw Morgan McSweeney quit as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff after he admitted he advised the PM to appoint Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US and that decision “was wrong”.
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