LONDON Feb 24 – Lord Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.The Metropolitan Police said a 72-year-old man was arrested at an address in Camden, north London, on Monday and taken to a police station for interview.The arrest follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden, a police statement added.The force launched an investigation earlier this month over allegations that, while he was serving as a government minister, Lord Mandelson had passed on market-sensitive government information to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Lord Mandelson has not publicly commented in recent weeks on the Epstein files, but the BBC understands his position is he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain.Lord Mandelson became the British ambassador to the US in February 2025 but was sacked in September after Downing Street said new information about the depth of his relationship with Epstein had emerged.The government has said it expects to release the first documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment in “early March”.On Monday afternoon, he was seen being led away from his London home by plain clothes officers who put him in the back of an unmarked car.The BBC understands his arrest was carried out by officers from the Met’s central specialist crime division.