Mandelson criminal investigation under threat as Metropolitan Police waits for Epstein files
The documents held by the US Department of Justice are understood to be crucial to the Met’s decision on whether Lord Mandelson could be charged with misconduct in public office.
The Metropolitan Police investigation into claims that Lord Mandelson shared sensitive Government information with Jeffrey Epstein is facing a new challenge, The Telegraph has reported.
Listen to this article
The investigation is facing difficulties amid concerns from Scotland Yard detectives that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) will not hand over redacted files relating to Epstein.
The documents are understood to be crucial to the Met’s decision on whether Lord Mandelson could be charged with misconduct in public office.
It has been reported that the Metropolitan Police has not received an acknowledgement from either the FBI or DoJ after requesting the documents as part of an agreement between the law enforcement agencies to share information.
An informal agreement had been established with the Met, DoJ and FBI, but has now escalated its request through the formal mutual legal assistance process.
However, it is unclear how long the process will take and it could potentially last years.
Mandelson’s lawyers could also argue that the emails currently held by investigators are partly redacted, meaning they may not provide a complete picture of what happened.
They could therefore argue that prosecuting Mandelson on the basis of the documents would be unfair. The possibility of the case being dropped altogether has now increased.
Lord Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords in February this year after documents appeared to suggest he had passed information to Epstein while serving as a minister under Gordon Brown.
Among three million documents released by officials in January were emails which appeared to suggest Mandelson had provided market-sensitive information to the financier in 2009 and 2010.
Mandelson has never been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement released by Lord Mandelson in February, he said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, and I feel regretful and sorry about this.
“Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.
The Met is also looking at other ways of gathering enough evidence to potentially charge Lord Mandelson, including speaking to former colleagues.
Misconduct in public office can be difficult to prosecute and usually requires substantial documentary evidence to secure a conviction. However, sources within the Met have insisted the investigation remains ongoing despite the latest difficulties.
A DoJ spokesman said: “The department of justice has not refused to assist any jurisdiction investigating potential criminal conduct related to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Both US and UK authorities follow established and legally required procedures for sharing information and evidence, and those processes ensure that any co-operation adheres to applicable laws that govern international evidence sharing and protects the integrity of ongoing matters.
“The department remains committed to co-operating with all jurisdictions pursuing potential crimes and will continue to do so in accordance with federal law and longstanding practice.”
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.