By Sam Tabahriti
LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Britain’s government has agreed a framework with the police on which documents relating to the late 2024 appointment of former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson can be released, the committee in charge of the disclosures said on Thursday.
Mandelson, 72, was released from custody after London’s Metropolitan Police arrested him on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein is at the centre of a British political scandal that has prompted calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down.
Starmer sacked Mandelson from what is considered the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with the convicted sex offender started to become clear.
COMMITTEE TO PUBLISH DOCUMENTS INDEPENDENTLY
Material about the vetting and appointment of Mandelson is currently being received by the Cabinet Office from across government, and it is hoped some of it will be published shortly, the Intelligence and Security Committee said.
It added that the committee had the final say on which documents can be made public, not Starmer’s office or anyone else in government.
“With that fundamental point now agreed, the committee now expects officials to revert to the committee on the practicalities around how documents will be referred to the committee and to inform the committee as to when we can expect to receive the first tranche of documents and how many there will be,” it said.
A government spokesperson said in a separate statement that it was working closely with the committee and had made progress on a number of requests.
“We are proceeding at pace to publish the first tranche of documents in early March,” the spokesperson said.
EU ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE ALSO REVIEWING CONDUCT
The European Union’s anti-fraud office OLAF said on Thursday that it was looking into Mandelson’s actions while he was serving in Brussels as British commissioner for trade between 2004 and 2008, following a request from the European Commission.
OLAF stressed that examining the matter did not mean a formal investigation had been opened and that it respected the presumption of innocence.
Mandelson’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His arrest in Britain means police suspect a crime has been committed but it does not imply any guilt. His homes in London and west England were searched by police earlier this month.
Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the U.S. Department of Justice in late January, showed the two men had a closer relationship than had been publicly known, and Mandelson had shared information with the financier when he was a minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government in 2009.
Mandelson – key to the Labour Party’s success when Tony Blair was prime minister – has previously said he very deeply regretted his association with Epstein. But he has not commented publicly or responded to messages seeking comment on the latest revelations.
Following his arrest, his lawyers released a statement saying his apprehension stemmed from a “baseless suggestion” that he intended to leave the country and settle abroad.
Last week, King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over separate allegations he sent confidential government documents to Epstein. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti in London and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Brussels; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Toby Chopra)
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