The Metropolitan Police investigation into Lord Mandelson is at risk of collapsing after United States authorities failed to respond to requests for unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph and the Times.
Detectives believe access to the full, unredacted material held in Washington is essential to establishing whether the peer committed misconduct in public office, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Telegraph reported that the US Department of Justice and the FBI have so far ignored a request made under an informal information-sharing arrangement, with the Met said not to have received even an acknowledgement.
Scotland Yard has since escalated the request through the formal mutual legal assistance process. Estimates of how long that will take vary: the Telegraph and GB News have reported it could take years, while Press Association copy has put the figure at up to a year, with no guarantee the department will release anything at all.
The 72-year-old peer, who served as Britain's ambassador to Washington from February to September 2025, has not been charged. He was arrested at an address in Camden in February, questioned for more than nine hours and released on bail, before being released under investigation the following month. He denies any wrongdoing.
The allegations centre on claims that Lord Mandelson passed confidential information obtained in ministerial roles to Epstein during and after the 2008 financial crisis. Emails released by the Department of Justice in January include exchanges concerning asset sales and tax changes under consideration in 2009 and a message sent hours before the announcement of the €500bn eurozone bailout in 2010. The US House Oversight Committee has separately pointed to bank records showing transfers to the peer totalling more than $75,000 between 2003 and 2004, payments he says he has no record or recollection of receiving.
Because misconduct in public office is difficult to prosecute and generally requires substantial documentary evidence, the redactions present a particular problem. Lawyers for the peer could argue that partly redacted emails give an incomplete picture and that a prosecution based on them would be unfair.
Not everyone within the force accepts the collapse framing. LBC reported that Met sources insist the investigation remains ongoing, and MailOnline said that while some officers fear the redacted material leaves the case vulnerable, others hope a successful prosecution can still be brought. Officers are understood to be gathering evidence by other means, including interviewing former colleagues, politicians and officials.
A Department of Justice spokesman rejected the suggestion of obstruction.
"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."
The spokesman added that 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 Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, had earlier raised the issue directly with the US ambassador, Warren Stephens, and during a visit to Washington. "Of course, there's a big body of that evidence in the United States in all those files and at some stage we're going to need the unredacted evidence," he told ABC News.
Lord Mandelson was dismissed as ambassador in September 2025 after leaked emails showed he had maintained contact with Epstein following the financier's 2008 conviction. He resigned from the Labour Party in February and announced his retirement from the House of Lords days later, though he retains the title. He has said he regrets the friendship and wishes he had never met Epstein.
The affair contributed to the political crisis that ended Sir Keir Starmer's premiership in the summer. His successor, Andy Burnham, is considering a public inquiry into Epstein's activities in the UK.
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