UK to Publish Mandelson Epstein Files  03/11 06:09

   

   LONDON (AP) -- The British government said it would publish files related to 
the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. on Wednesday, as 
police investigate potential misconduct stemming from the ex-diplomat's ties to 
the late Jeffrey Epstein.

   Lawmakers have forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government to disclose 
thousands of files about the decision to name Mandelson to the key diplomatic 
post at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, despite a past 
friendship with the convicted sex offender.

   The government has said the files will show that Mandelson misled officials 
about the extent of the relationship.

   Mandelson, 72, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of 
the governing Labour Party, was arrested Feb. 23 at his London home on 
suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has been released without bail 
conditions as the police investigation continues.

   He has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn't been charged. He does not 
face allegations of sexual misconduct.

   Cabinet minister Darren Jones said the "first tranche of documents" will be 
published Wednesday afternoon.

   The documents are being published in batches after review by Parliament's 
Intelligence and Security Committee. Police have asked the government not to 
release files that could compromise their criminal investigation into Mandelson.

   "The documents that will be published today later to Parliament will provide 
full transparency about the appointments process, bar one document that has 
been held back by the Metropolitan Police because of an ongoing criminal 
investigation," Jones told broadcaster ITV.

   Starmer fired Mandelson in September after earlier revelations about his 
Epstein ties, but is facing a political storm over his decision to give him the 
Washington job in the first place.

   Documents in a huge trove of Epstein files published by the U.S. Department 
of Justice in late January suggested that Mandelson sent market-sensitive 
information to the convicted sex offender when he was the U.K. government's 
business secretary after the 2008 financial crisis.

   That includes an internal government report discussing ways the U.K. could 
raise money, including by selling off government assets. Mandelson also appears 
to have told Epstein he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a 
tax on bankers' bonuses.

   Mandelson is also facing a separate probe by the European Union's anti-fraud 
office for the time he spent as the bloc's trade representative.