Commander Ella Marriott said the Metropolitan Police has been inundated with reports of alleged misconduct in a public office after the release of millions of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein
The Metropolitan Police has received “a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office” following the release of millions of documents relating to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
It comes after Lord Peter Mandelson was accused of leaking sensitive information to the sex offender. The UK’s former ambassador to the US features a number of times in millions of pages released by the US Department of Justice as part of the so-called “Epstein files”.
The country’s top civil servant has been tasked with carrying out a review after documents apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing information to Epstein while the peer was a cabinet minister in Gordon Brown’s government.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice indicate Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis.
Lord Mandelson, the then-business secretary, also appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers’ bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.
In a statement issued on Monday, Metropolitan Police Commander Ella Marriott said: “We are aware of the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice.
“Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.
“As with any matter, if new and relevant information is brought to our attention we will assess it, and investigate as appropriate.”
Sir Keir Starmer believes Lord Mandelson “should not be a member of the House of Lords” and has asked the Cabinet Secretary to “urgently” review all available information on contact between the former minister and Jeffrey Epstein, Downing Street said.
The King has been urged to contact lawyers representing a woman who claims to have been sent to the UK for a sexual encounter with his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former prince has featured on a number of occasions in the more than three million pages of documents published by the US Department of Justice on Friday, related to Epstein.
Lawyers representing the unnamed woman, a second accuser who alleges she was sent to the UK by Epstein, said any evidence Andrew would give in relation to the allegations would be “irrelevant” – adding that a “sincere and real apology” from the King would be the only way to “maintain any level of credibility”.
Brad Edwards from the US firm Edwards Henderson previously told the BBC his client had spent the night with Andrew after being given a tour of Buckingham Palace.
A man who appears to be the former prince features in images from the release, crouched over an unidentified woman who is lying on the floor.
His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson also features in the documents, appearing to accuse Epstein of it being “crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew”.
In an email exchange from September 21, 2011, she appears to write: “Don’t know if you are still on this bbm but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy.
“Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship and congratualtions (sic) on your baby boy. Sarah xx”
The email is then followed up with a message saying: “You have disappeared.
“I did not even know you were having a baby. It was soooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply (sic). More than you will know.”
Elsewhere in the document dump, screenshots and scans appear to show Andrew exchanged emails with Epstein about a “beautiful” Russian woman, and invited him to Buckingham Palace.
The former Duke of York was stripped of his titles by Charles last year after the posthumous publication of a book by Virginia Giuffre, who also alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17.
Andrew paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.
The former prince has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement issued after the allegations made by Mr Edwards, Brittany Henderson, of the same law firm, told the Press Association: “Andrew’s power only existed because of his royal family.
“Andrew’s complicity and involvement with Epstein and Maxwell has been well known to us, to Andrew, and to the Palace for many years.
“Whether he comes to the United States to testify is irrelevant; we hardly need more people over here spinning grand stories.
“For the royal family to maintain any level of credibility in the eyes of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, the legal team for the King should contact me immediately in a good faith effort to learn what Andrew has done, meet whomever he has done it to, issue a sincere and real apology, and ensure that any victims of Andrew are fairly compensated for this wrongdoing.”