00:00British police have arrested former UK ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, in a
00:07misconduct probe stemming from his ties to convicted sex offender Geoffrey Epstein.
00:12London Metropolitan Police said its officers had arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion
00:18of misconduct in public office at an address in North London. They did not name him, in keeping
00:24with traditional British police practice, but the suspect was already previously identified
00:29as Mandelson. Police are investigating him over allegations he had passed sensitive government
00:34information to Epstein a decade and a half ago, when he served as business secretary under Prime
00:40Minister Gordon Brown. His arrest comes four days after former Prince Andrew was detained on suspicion
00:46of a similar offense related to his friendship with Epstein. Mandelson was fired from his diplomatic
00:52post in September, after emails were published showing that he had maintained contact with the
00:58disgraced financier after his 2008 conviction. Epstein was convicted over charges of sexual
01:04offenses involving a minor. Mandelson's ties with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a New York
01:12jail while awaiting trial, was further illustrated after the U.S. Justice Department released millions
01:18of documents pertaining to Epstein's case last month. UK police launched a probe into Mandelson shortly
01:24after, though the former ambassador does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
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