UK police are searching two properties linked to Peter Mandelson as part of the Epstein investigation

LONDON (AP) — British police on Friday searched two properties linked to former ambassador Peter Mandelson as part of an investigation into possible misconduct stemming from his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Stewart said: “Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist Central Crime Team are executing search warrants at two addresses, one in the Wiltshire area and the other in the Camden area.

“The searches are linked to an ongoing misconduct investigation into public office crimes, involving a 72-year-old man.”

Mandelson (72 years old) owns homes in Wiltshire in western England and the Camden area in London.

The former minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the ruling Labor Party is being investigated for possible misconduct in public office over documents, part of a trove of Epstein files uncovered in the US, which suggest he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago.

Read more: The Epstein files reveal close ties to Trump’s influential inner circle

Mandelson was not arrested or charged.

The maximum penalty for misconduct in public office is up to life imprisonment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who fired Mandelson from his ambassadorial post over previous revelations about his ties to Epstein, is facing a political storm over his decision in 2024 to appoint him to Britain’s most important diplomatic post.