Lord Mandelson being led away from his London home by plainclothes police officers earlier this week.
London’s police force has apologised to the Speaker of the House of Commons for revealing that he tipped off police about Lord Mandelson’s alleged plan to flee the United Kingdom.
The Metropolitan Police told Mandelson’s lawyers that Sir Lindsay Hoyle had passed on the information, which Hoyle said he had provided in “good faith”.
Mandelson, a former UK ambassador to the United States, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office after detectives received a warning from Hoyle suggesting that Mandelson intended to leave for the British Virgin Islands.
The Telegraph understands that Hoyle revealed Mandelson’s alleged plans during a meeting with detectives that morning to discuss the investigation into claims that the disgraced peer leaked sensitive government documents to Jeffrey Epstein.
Officials from the Cabinet Office were also present at the meeting, during which Hoyle said he had been told that Mandelson had been offered refuge in the British Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean, by a wealthy sympathiser.
It is understood that Hoyle is extremely angry about the police revealing his identity.
Senior Metropolitan (Met) officers were due to meet the Speaker today to apologise for the disclosure, which is regarded as a serious breach of protocol.
Police said: “The Met has apologised to the Speaker of the House of Commons this afternoon for inadvertently revealing information during an investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office.”
Hoyle told MPs yesterday, “Members will be aware of comments in the media regarding the arrest of Lord Mandelson.
“To prevent any inaccurate speculation, I would like to confirm that, upon receipt of information that I felt was relevant, I passed this on to the Met Police in good faith, as is my duty and responsibility.”
Hoyle reportedly visited the British Virgin Islands last week. He is said to have been told by a source there about Mandelson’s travel plans.
Speaking after the Times reported that he was behind the tip-off, he added: “It is regrettable that this rapidly ended up in the media. As this is a live investigation, members would understand that it would not be appropriate to make any further comment, and I’d like to caution members from doing so.”
It is understood that police had been planning to interview Mandelson by appointment, rather than arresting him. However, that decision changed suddenly on Monday when they became concerned that he could be a flight risk.
Mandelson was forced to surrender his passport as part of his bail conditions after seven hours of questioning.
In a statement late on Tuesday, his lawyers described allegations that he was planning to leave the country as “baseless”.
A spokesman said: “Peter Mandelson was arrested despite an agreement with the police that he would attend an interview next month on a voluntary basis.
“The arrest was prompted by a baseless suggestion that he was planning to leave the country and take up permanent residence abroad. There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any such suggestion. We have asked the [Met] for the evidence relied upon to justify the arrest.
“Peter Mandelson’s over-riding priority is to co-operate with the police investigation, as he has done throughout this process, and to clear his name.”
Initially, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the Speaker of the House of Lords, was the one accused of tipping off police.
Journalist Emily Maitlis, a host of the News Agents podcast, said on Tuesday: “Overnight, I heard from a colleague who sent me Peter Mandelson’s own words.
“And this is what he told the colleague: ‘Despite previous agreements between police and the legal team over a voluntary interview in early March, police arrested me because they claimed the Lord Speaker received information that I was about to flee to the British Virgin Islands and take up permanent residence abroad, leaving Reinaldo [his husband], my family, home and Jock [his dog] behind me.’”
A spokesman for Forsyth – the former Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Forsyth – issued a denial, saying: “Any suggestion at all that the Lord Speaker received information about Lord Mandelson’s movements or communicated any such information to the Metropolitan Police Service is entirely false and without foundation.”
Sources close to Forsyth said he would also have an urgent meeting with the Metropolitan Police today to seek clarification on how he came to be named as the source.
He wanted to know why detectives did not contact him so the false information could be corrected, and was demanding an apology from those responsible for any error, the sources said.
It is unclear why Mandelson would flee to the British Virgin Islands, given that the British Overseas Territory is a signatory to the Extradition Act 2003.
Police opened an investigation into Mandelson three weeks ago after it emerged that he appeared to have leaked sensitive government documents to Epstein while serving as Business Secretary in Gordon Brown’s Government.
His arrest was another blow for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, whose judgment has been questioned for appointing Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US.
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