Police are searching two homes belonging to Lord Peter Mandelson amid allegations the peer leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said officers from its central specialist crime team are carrying out two warrants in Camden and Wiltshire in connection with an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences.
The force said the alleged offences involved a 72-year-old man and confirmed he has not been arrested.
It comes after emails released last week by the US Department of Justice appear to show Lord Mandelson leaking confidential government documents to the disgraced financier.
The revelations triggered a police investigation and piled significant pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to release vetting documents related to the peer’s appointment as US ambassador.
On Friday it was revealed that senior government figures will be forced to hand over their messages with Lord Mandelson ahead of the release of vetting files, which parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) said would be shown “very shortly”.
Shortly after, Lord Mandelson was dealt another blow as the lobbying firm he co-founded, Global Counsel, said it has cut all ties with the former US ambassador and has announced its boss Benjamin Wegg-Prosser will step down.
Co-founder and chief executive Mr Wegg-Prosser said he was leaving the organisation as it was “time to draw a line” between the firm and the “actions” of Lord Mandelson.
Sir Keir’s leadership has been thrown into turmoil following the release of the emails as he was forced to admit he knew Lord Mandelson had a relationship with Epstein.
On Wednesday, members of his own party forced him into a humiliating climbdown over the release of the vetting documents relating to the peer’s appointment.
Initially, the prime minister had attempted to restrict the publication of the documents, arguing that some details would need to be redacted on national security grounds. But following accusations from Labour MPs that he was engaging in a “cover-up”, Sir Keir relented.
He told Prime Minister’s Questions Lord Mandelson had “betrayed our country, our parliament and my party”.
“He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador,” he continued. “I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”
But the scandal has left him under relentless pressure from across the political spectrum of his party, with some insisting nothing but a “root and branch” overhaul at the centre of Downing Street will do.
On Thursday, Labour grandee Harriet Harman warned Sir Keir that he must take action over the scandal or risk losing his job. Baroness Harman told Sky News: “I think it is so serious for Keir Starmer. I don’t think it’s inevitable that it will bring him down.
“But it will bring him down, unless he takes the action that is really necessary for him to take, and that’s this: firstly, he’s got to stop blaming Mandelson, and saying ‘He lied to me.’ Because actually, he should never have been considering him in the first place.”
Ian Byrne, who sits on the left-wing of the Labour party, said Sir Keir “needs a miracle” if he is to stay as leader amid furore over his handling of Lord Mandelson’s links to Epstein.
He told Sky News the prime minister has “got to reflect on his position. You know, he’s an intelligent man.”
“And he needs a miracle. He needs something to turn it around.”
Others have pointed the finger at his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, insisting he pushed for the appointment of his ally Lord Mandelson, and to bring him back into the heart of a Labour government.
Labour backbencher Karl Turner added: “If McSweeney is still in 10 Downing Street, the PM is up against it.”
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Sewart, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “I can confirm that officers from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime team are in the process of carrying out search warrants at two addresses, one in the Wiltshire area, and another in the Camden area.
“The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man.
“He has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing.”