The Labour grandee is the second high-profile figure to be arrested in recent days, and was seen stony-faced on Monday being led from his Camden flat ahead of a police interview
Peter Mandelson’s arrest on Monday followed a “very unusual” process that saw the Jeffrey Epstein-linked former diplomat arrested two weeks after police carried out high-profile searches of his properties.
The London Metropolitan Police said on Monday that the 72-year-old was arrested “on suspicion of misconduct in public office” at his address in Camden. He wasn’t let go until well into the night, with photographers poised at his north London address capturing his return at around 2am on Tuesday morning.
Experts watching the proceedings have outlined key ways in which the typical process was not followed – starting weeks before his arrest – that also separated the high-profile arrest from that of former Prince Andrew.
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The differences start from the point at which police conducted searches at Mandelson’s two properties – his London home and a rental in Wiltshire. Unlike Andrew, who was arrested on Friday under suspicion of the same alleged crime, Mandelson was not held while investigators combed through his belongings.
His eventual arrest, which came a whole 16 days later, was “unusual”, a policing expert said, as he was picked up in the evening rather than early on. Mandelson was seen being led from his home at around 4.30pm and given a lift by police to a station in an unmarked squad car by plain clothed officers.
The late hour at which he was led to a car by plain-clothed investigators was picked out by ex-Met Detective Chief Inspector David McKelvey as atypical, as it will have given police less time to conduct an interview. He explained: “By the time he gets checked in it will be seven or eight o’clock and unless they are doing a very quick turn-around, he is going to have to have eight hours sleep, which reduces the amount of time you have to interview.”
The disgraced former Duke of York was whisked away by police from his Sandringham temporary accommodation at around 8am on February 19, indicating a more typical arrest process. The King’s brother was released under investigation that evening, while searches were still ongoing at his current and former addresses.
Also “very unusual” in Mandelson’s arrest, Mr McKelvey said, was the speed with which officers met the threshold of the “necessity test” which requires that holding the suspect is essential for the investigation, to ensure the safety of the public, or prevent disappearance.
The ex-investigator said: “Something has happened that has caused them to take action, this is very unusual. The big point is necessity, it could be a number of things that has caused this threshold to be met.”
Scotland Yard said in a statement following Mandelson’s arrest: “Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview. This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”
The police have not commented on the reason for the arrest and there is no suggestion that is it related to any wrongdoing from Mandleson in the investigation.
