Name: Lord Mandelson arrested after claims he shared financial information with Jeffrey Epstein | BBC News
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Peter Mandelson has spent the last few hours in police custody after being arrested at his North London home late this afternoon on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He was being investigated by police over his links with Jeffrey Epstein and allegations that he shared market sensitive information with the late paedophile when he was a government minister.

Basic passive voice

Peter Mandelson was the UK Ambassador to Washington until last September when more details about his friendship with Epstein emerged and he was sacked by the Prime Minister.

He hasn't commented commented recently on the Epstein files, but

it's understood he believes he hasn't acted criminally nor for financial gain.

Well, we'll have more on his dramatic fall from grace with Chris Mason shortly.

Here's our UK correspondent, Daniel Sanford, accompanied by two police officers wearing body worn cameras who had just arrested him.

Lord Mandelson being led to an unmarked car and being taken away to a police station for questioning.

Minutes later, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that they had arrested a 72 year old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

This is the defining moment of Keir Starmer's premiership.

Watching the man who he appointed to the highest position in our diplomatic service getting arrested by police, I think is an image that's going to stay with all of us for many, many years.

To investigation of Lord Mandelson began two and a half weeks ago with searches of his London home in Camden and his second home in Wiltshire.

It was triggered by emails in the Epstein files allegedly showing Lord Mandelson communicating with Jeffrey Epstein himself in one.

Epstein allegedly asks about rumours about a proposed EU bailout during the financial crisis and Mandelson allegedly replies should be announced tonight.

He also seems to forward an interesting note that had gone to the Prime Minister.

He had returned to the Cabinet as Business Secretary under Gordon Brown after two resignations under Tony Blair.

But when Gordon Brown lost the election and lost out in the subsequent coalition talks, Mandelson appears to write finally got him to go Today, more potentially market sensitive information.

Lord Mandelson had known Epstein since the early 2000s.

In one message in a birthday book he called him his best pal.

They remained in contact after Epstein was jailed for prostituting a 14 year old girl.

When Epstein was freed, Lord Mandelson seems to write, how's freedom feeling?

Epstein apparently replies, to which Mandelson allegedly comments, naughty boy.

Despite knowing some details of Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, appointed him as Ambassador to Washington before removing him from that Post nine months later, in September, he had been seen as somebody who could get close to President Donald Trump and who knew about trade deals from his time as EU Trade Commissioner.

Lord Mandelson has not commented publicly in recent weeks on the Epstein files, but

the BBC understands his position has consistently been that he's not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.

Well, we can go straight now to Lucy Manning, who's outside New Scotland Yard for us.

Well, tonight, Lord Mandelson is still in Met police custody.

He was arrested around 430 this afternoon, so they've now been questioning him for more than five hours.

What's not clear is whether they will hold him overnight tonight or release him.

What is clear, however, is that this is a far cry from the grandeur of the British Embassy in Washington being in a Met police custody suite.

Like other people who've been arrested, it's likely they took a custody photo, DNA and fingerprints as well.

What we have got now are two police forces, Thames Valley and the Met, acting pretty decisively here, arresting Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor and now Lord Mandelson, both on allegations that they passed on documents allegedly to Jeffrey Epstein.

But there has been some criticism from one of the lawyers of Epstein victims that British police and prosecutors in the past haven't moved quickly enough on this, particularly in light of the allegations, the sexual allegations made against the former Prince Andrew, which he denied.

And while we do have the Met and other forces now looking into Epstein linked flights, when BBC colleagues went to those same forces in October with these details, of more than 90 Epstein linked flights, no action was taken.

It is worth remembering that both these men, they are just arrests at the moment.

Nobody has been charged and it's likely to be the start of what is said to be still quite a long investigation.

Lucy Manning there and Chris Mason is here with me.

Chris, it is an extraordinary sight this, isn't it?

This man who has been so powerful for so long, being led out by police officers under arrest.

One of the biggest figures in the contemporary history of the Labour Party.

Three times a Cabinet minister, a European Commissioner then appointed, one of the marquee roles in the gift of a British Prime Minister, His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States.

There he was, new in post around about a year ago.

The glamour, the splendor, the access to power.

He was clearly reveling being back at the, at the top table.

And you contrast that, as Lucy was reflecting with the reality of his evening over the last few hours in a police station under arrest.

The Conservatives have very bluntly and publicly seized tonight on this, as we saw in Daniel's report, making allegations around the Prime Minister's judgment in that appointment.

Now, no word from Downing street tonight.

I don't think we should be surprised by that given the, given that arrest has taken place.

But the sentiment rates that I pick up in, in government is a sort of sense of hang on.

What he has been arrested over relates to things that weren't even known at the time of his sacking, let alone at the time of his appointment.

And the Prime Minister has acknowledged that that appointment was a mistake.

A couple of other things quickly to bring you up to speed on.

The Government has said today that as early as next week it could publish some of the documents relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador.

That follows a vote in the Commons of a couple of weeks ago.

And tomorrow the Liberal democr of a debate in the Commons using the same mechanisms that the Conservatives used a few weeks ago.

It's called the Humble Address to try and secure the release of documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's appointment as a trade envoy under the last Labour government back in 2001.

And in that motion, the Lib Dems say it should include any correspondence involving Lord Mandelson at the time regarding the suitability of the former Prince for that job.