The Met Police is searching two properties linked to Labour politician Peter Mandelson after his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has come to light.
Lord Mandelson was pictured in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice, showing him in his underwear in the financier’s Paris home.
A series of payments have also been found from Epstein to Mandelson and his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Deputy assistant commissioner Hayley Sewart, of the Metropolitan Police, says: ‘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.
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‘He has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing.’
Lord Mandelson has not responded to the latest allegations, but in an interview with the Times he admitted to a ‘lapse in judgment’ over funding sent by Epstein to his husband Reinaldo for an osteopathy course.
But as journalists dug deeper into the mountain of emails exchanged by the two men over several years, even more sinister allegations emerged.
Some messages appeared to show then-business secretary Mandelson passing Epstein sensitive information about government discussions at the height of the financial crash.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they have received ‘a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office’ since the files were released, though they did not identify Lord Mandelson as a target.
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