Police in the United Kingdom announced a criminal investigation Tuesday into Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released millions of court documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Ella Marriot in London said following the DOJ documents dump, the Met received “a number of reports” into alleged misconduct in public office, including a referral from the UK government.

“I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offenses,” Marriot wrote in a statement.

RESURFACED PHOTO LINKS MAMDANI TO EPSTEIN-CONNECTED PUBLICIST AT NEW YORK CITY EVENT

“The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won’t be commenting any further at this time,” she added.

Mandelson resigned Sunday from the governing Labour Party amid allegations he received $75,000 in payments from Epstein and shared sensitive government information after the 2008 financial crisis.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO SUBPOENA LES WEXNER, 2 OTHERS IN EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION

Prime Minister Keir Starmer abruptly fired Mandelson from his ambassadorial position in September following the release of emails between Mandelson and Epstein.

Starmer on Monday requested an urgent review of Mandelson’s communications with Epstein while he was in office.

The House of Lords announced on Tuesday Mandelson is stepping down.

“He will cease to be a member tomorrow,” the House of Lords told Fox News Digital. “We have no comment on any possible police investigation.”

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Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody.

He was awaiting trial on charges including sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Published on 03/02/2026 – 18:21 GMT+1•Updated
18:49

Lawmakers at the European Parliament are struggling to find a compromise position on the design of the digital euro, putting the project’s legislative path in jeopardy, according to three sources familiar with the matter and documents seen by Euronews.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the rapporteurs noted that there is a strong disagreement on the very essence of what the digital euro should look like, making it very challenging to move forward, according to an email exchange seen by Euronews.

“We agreed to disagree,” a person familiar with the matter told Euronews, summarising the essence of the discussion.

According to the agenda from Tuesday’s meeting, the European People’s Party (EPP) rapporteur Fernando Navarrete, who is leading on the file in the European Parliament, made a new proposal on the concept of the digital euro, calling it “e-cash”.

That model would be used only for offline payments and as a “tokenised digital form” of cash, without granting users retail accounts on the European Central Bank (ECB) ledger.

Euronews reached out to Navarrete’s office for comment, but received no reply before publication.

By contrast, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe support the European Commission’s proposal, with users holding retail accounts on the ECB’s ledger and using the digital euro both online and offline.

“Europe must own and control its critical infrastructure. At a time of unprecedented geopolitical change, as we witness the dissolution of rules bases international order, payment sovereignty must be anchored in common infrastructure”, S&D shadow rapporteur Nikos Papandreou told Euronews.

The European Parliament is the only institution that has yet to take a position on the file, with EU countries already agreeing their position last December.

A vote on the file is expected in May at the European Parliament’s plenary session, but divisions between legislators could thwart its passage.

Should the digital euro be approved in the plenary, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council would then negotiate a political agreement.

However, no negotiations among the three can take place until the Parliament agrees on a position.