UK police have launched a criminal investigation into former government minister Peter Mandelson following allegations that he leaked government emails to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said it has opened a probe into "alleged misconduct in public office."
"I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former government minister, for misconduct in public office offences," Met Police Commander Ella Marriott said.
"The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won’t be commenting any further at this time," she added.
The announcement comes after the British government earlier on Tuesday referred material to the police following an initial review of emails linked to Mandelson that appeared in recently released US Justice Department files on Epstein.
"An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice… found that they contain likely market-sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy," Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said in a statement.
Emails made public in the United States on Friday showed Mandelson forwarding internal government information to Epstein while serving as business secretary in 2009.
The Metropolitan Police said on Monday that it was reviewing reports of alleged misconduct in public office after the latest release of Epstein-related files suggested Mandelson had shared sensitive government information with the financier.
Amid mounting pressure over his links to Epstein, Mandelson is set to step down from the House of Lords on Wednesday, according to the chamber’s speaker, Lord Forsyth. He also resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday following the release of the documents.
The US Justice Department has recently released more than three million pages, along with thousands of videos and images, related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Many of the documents remain heavily redacted.
