Police assess reports of alleged misconduct after Mandelson emails published

Police are reviewing reports of alleged misconduct in a public office after Lord Mandelson was accused of passing on sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It comes after the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Reform UK said they had reported the peer to police, while the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and some Labour MPs have also called for the police to investigate.

Email exchanges released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) appear to show Lord Mandelson forwarded on information to the disgraced financier when he was business secretary under Gordon Brown in 2009.

Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment about the allegations.

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."

A government spokesperson said: "It is rightly for the police to determine whether to investigate and the government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need."

Earlier, Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer believes Lord Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use his title.

However, the prime minister's official spokesman said he did not have the power to directly remove the peer's title.

Under current arrangements, a new law would be required to remove a peerage.

The government has launched an urgent investigation into Lord Mandelson's contact with Epstein while he was a government minister.

The peer has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords since taking up the role of US ambassador in December 2024.

He was sacked from the position last September when further details about his relationship with the disgraced financier were made public.

On Sunday, Lord Mandelson also resigned his Labour membership after four decades as a key figure in the party.

It followed the release of more documents by the US DoJ on Friday, which detailed the extent of his contact with Epstein.

Other emails in the tranche of documents appear to suggest:

The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the revelations were "shocking" and must be fully investigated by the UK government and all appropriate authorities.

In a statement, Brown said he had asked the cabinet secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the business department during the financial crisis.

The former prime minister said he had already asked the cabinet secretary to investigate information in the Epstein files about communications between Lord Mandelson and Epstein on asset sales in September last year.

Brown said no record could be found of such communications and he was now asking for "a wider and more extensive enquiry" on the disclosure of government papers.

Giving a statement to MPs in the House of Commons earlier, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said: "The undeclared exchange of funds, the passing on of government information, let alone the facts that those exchanges were to a convicted paedophile, are wholly unconscionable."

He said the government would work with the House of Lords to modernise disciplinary procedures to allow for the removal of peers who had brought the chamber into disrepute.

Jones argued it was better to update procedures so they applied to all peers, rather than introducing complex pieces of legislation for each individual.

Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said the government "cannot hide from its responsibility in having made Mandelson its ambassador in the first place", when his relationship with Epstein was known.

A handful of Labour MPs have criticised the government's handling of the row, according to private messages seen by BBC News.

Outlining the government's position in a WhatsApp group for Labour MPs, a Number 10 official said: "It's right that Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and had he not done so, the party was actively looking at what action could be taken."

One Labour MP replied: "That line on Peter Mandelson is no way strong enough."

Another said: "Agree. Surely had he not resigned the party would have suspended him pending expulsion given the seriousness of conduct."

Emails released in the files indicate that Lord Mandelson - who was then business secretary - discussed the government's plans for a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses with Epstein.

In an email eight days after the plans were announced by then-chancellor Alistair Darling in December 2009, Epstein asked Lord Mandelson whether Jamie Dimon, the boss of JP Morgan, should call Darling.

Lord Mandelson appears to reply and say "Yes and mildly threaten", before Epstein then asks if it "make more sense to offer more for the small business fund in exchange for a reduction in tax".

Other emails suggest that Lord Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Jeffrey Epstein when he was Brown's business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister.

In June 2009, Brown's policy adviser Nick Butler wrote an email to the prime minister about the UK's struggling economy, in which he advocated "releasing value from the very substantial asset base which the government holds" and suggested the government came up with an "asset sales plan".

Butler copied in several people, including Peter Mandelson, and newly released emails indicate that Mandelson then forwarded that email on to Epstein, with the message: "Interesting note that's gone to the PM".

Epstein then replied asking: "what salable [sic] assets?"

Butler told the BBC he was "shocked" by the revelations and Lord Mandelson "should be ashamed of what he's done".

He called for a full investigation, adding that in the period after the financial crisis there was a lot of information "that people like Epstein could have traded on".

A further internal government email, which Mandelson was copied into, was also forwarded to Epstein in August 2009, but it is not clear who forwarded that email to the disgraced financier.

In the August 2009 email, then-government Business Minister Shriti Vadera discussed how to improve financial markets in the wake of the crash and suggested providing funds to struggling companies in exchange for a share of ownership.

In a statement announcing that he was resigning his Labour membership on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said he believed allegations that Epstein made financial payments to him 20 years ago were false.

He has also reiterated his regret that he continued his association with Epstein after his conviction, apologising "unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered".