The Metropolitan Police are set to launch a criminal investigation into allegations that Peter Mandelson passed market sensitive information to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson had already quit Labour and resigned from the House of Lords over the scandal, and is now facing a police probe. Earlier Downing Street said the Cabinet Office had referred material to the police following a review of the Epstein files.
It found they contained “likely market sensitive information” and official handling safeguards had been “compromised” in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Emails released on Friday suggested the Labour veteran may have passed market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was Business Secretary under Gordon Brown.
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DoJ)
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice has found that they contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy.
“Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information and strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially. It appears the safeguards were compromised. In light of this information, the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police. As we said yesterday, it is right for the police to determine whether to investigate. And as the Prime Minister has indicated at cabinet this morning, the Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need.”
On Tuesday the ex-PM Gordon Brown also wrote to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with “information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson’s disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information” to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement, Mr Brown said: “I have today written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson’s disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods.
“I have sent Sir Mark correspondence, exchanged between myself and the Cabinet Secretary last year, and I have also passed over information arising from it that may be important in his current investigation.
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US Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)
“I have included the letter I sent in September 2025 asking the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers regarding the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein.
“I have also included the November 2026 response from the Cabinet Secretary who said about this that ‘no records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson’s mailbox’ could be found. Having drawn their attention to relevant evidence, the matter now rests in the hands of the police.”
On Sunday, after the documents indicating he had received three payments of $25,000 from Epstein came to light, Mandelson insisted: “I have no record and no recollection of receiving these sums and do not know if the documents are authentic.”
The Labour veteran’s decision to quit the House of Lords does not mean he loses the title, which would require an Act of Parliament. But earlier the Prime Minister’s spokesman said he had tasked officials with drafting legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of the title as “quickly as possible”.
Mandelson was sacked as ambassador to the US in September after emails revealing he had coached Epstein came to light. Cross-party talks have been launched over new legislation that could see him and other disgraced peers removed from the House of Lords.