Four days after former Prince Andrew was arrested by the British Police due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein, the prince of darkness follows suit. This is how London journalists have known Peter Mandelson for four decades, former UK Ambassador to the United States under the Government of Keir Starmer, Minister for Trade and Industry, Business, and for Northern Ireland under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and former European Commissioner for Trade.
The accusation against Mandelson is the same as against Andrew: misuse of a public office. However, in his case, the revelations point to leaks and abuses of public trust on a larger scale than those of the former prince.
Finally, the British Police hasreleased on bail the former Labour minister and ambassador after several hours of questioning.
The police clarified that Mandelson is on bail "pending further investigations," but did not provide further details "to avoid prejudicing the integrity of the investigation." Therefore, the amount of bail and whether his passport has been confiscated remain unknown.
For the Labour government of Keir Starmer, Mandelson's involvement in the Epstein case is a problem, as it was the Prime Minister who decided to appoint him to an extremely delicate position: ambassador to the United States under Trump. In March, the first documents on Mandelson's selection process for the position are expected to be released. This could either calm the waters or trigger a much larger crisis if it is discovered that Starmer knew how dubious the character was or if he knowingly or unknowingly ignored signs that the future ambassador was not trustworthy.
Mandelson's arrest was expected following the publication of a portion of Epstein's emails by the United States. In them, Mandelson confirmed to the world elite's procurer on May 9, 2010, that a half-trillion euro rescue plan had been agreed upon by the European Union to save Greece's economy from collapse. The decision was not made public until the following day, suggesting that during those crucial hours, Epstein and his friends on Wall Street and in the City benefited from information not accessible to the public.
Subsequently, the Financial Times revealed that Mandelson had pressured the British government - of which he was a part - not to limit compensation for workers and leaders in the financial sector who had led their entities to the brink of collapse, only avoided with taxpayer money. According to the newspaper, Mandelson carried out this activity at the behest of Epstein and Jes Stanley, then a senior executive at the US bank JP Morgan and later CEO of Barclays, the UK's second-largest bank. Stanley is an unwitting protagonist in the Epstein papers, as they suggest he had a prostitute dress up as Snow White.
Other emails reveal that Epstein transferred £75,000 (¤86,000) to Mandelson in 2003 and 2004, and several thousand pounds more to his then partner - and current husband - Brazilian citizen Reinaldo Avila da Silva. The prince of darkness also informed Epstein of Brown's government plans to dispose of financial assets and reform the UK tax code in 2009.
Mandelson's arrest comes as the British Police investigate whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, that is, former Prince Andrew, charged taxpayer-funded travel expenses, including massages, while representing British commercial interests worldwide. Other reports suggest that Epstein and his number two, Ghislaine Maxwell, may have entered and exited the UK through military airports.