Police feared Peter Mandelson ‘was about to flee to the British Virgin Islands’: Disgraced ex-minister denies he was a ‘flight risk’

It emerged on Tuesday that police were trying to arrest Peter Mandelson amid fears he was planning to flee to the British Virgin Islands.

Scotland Yard has received new intelligence that the disgraced former minister is a ‘flight risk’ and a decision has been taken at senior levels to arrest him as soon as possible to prevent him leaving the country and taking up permanent residence abroad to avoid prosecution.

But an extraordinary row broke out on Tuesday when a furious Lord Mandelson lashed out at detectives and told friends they were caught up in “pure fiction” when he insisted he never planned to leave the country and fully co-operated with police.

Now the former Labor ambassador’s lawyers have demanded Scotland Yard provide evidence of the ‘unfounded suggestion’ that their client planned to hide abroad to avoid possible investigations for misconduct in public office for allegedly leaking information to Jeffrey Epstein.

But sources close to the investigation said the officers involved believed the intelligence came from a reputable source and there were “strong operational reasons” for the arrest to be made as quickly as possible.

Detectives believed Lord Mandelson’s flight risk was so serious that they decided to impose bail conditions that placed restrictions on his movements, including a ban on travel outside the country.

It was reported on the News Agencies podcast on Tuesday that police took action after the Lords Speaker reported hearing that Lord Mandelson was planning to travel to the British Virgin Islands.

The Met refused to disclose the source of the information.

Lord Mandelson was detained for nearly nine hours on Monday after his arrest on suspicion of abuse of public office.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Lord Forsyth said he had not received information about Lord Mandelson’s movements, saying: ‘Any suggestion that the Lord Advocate had received information about Lord Mandelson’s movements or passed any such information to the Metropolitan Police is completely false and unfounded.’

A few weeks ago detectives agreed with Lord Mandelson’s lawyers that he could voluntarily attend a discreet interview at a central London police station next month over allegations he passed secret government information to paedophiles while he was business secretary.

But over the weekend the force received intelligence suggesting the former minister known as the Prince of Darkness was planning to travel abroad soon.

On Monday morning detectives were so alarmed by claims that Lord Mandelson was preparing to flee the country that three officers rushed to arrest him at his £7.6 million Regent’s Park home.

The pale-faced peer was later photographed being led away by officers at 4.30pm, visibly stunned by a sudden knock on the door.

The unusual timing of the arrest raised questions, as crime suspects are often arrested in early morning raids.

Previously, Scotland Yard yesterday refused to comment on the timing, with a spokesman saying only that there were ‘strong operational reasons’.

But hours later Lord Mandelson’s lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, issued a statement accusing the police of deceiving them with a ‘baseless suggestion’.

Angered, Lord Mandelson told friends shortly after he was released after nine hours of interrogation that he had been the victim of a ‘total fiction’.

He said: ‘Despite an earlier agreement between the police and the legal team for a voluntary meeting at the beginning of March, the police arrested me because they claimed I was about to flee to the British Virgin Islands and take up permanent residence abroad, leaving Reinaldo, my family, my home and Jock behind.

‘I don’t need to say it’s a complete fiction. Just today the police were told they had to make an impromptu arrest. The question is, who or what is behind this?’

In this photo, Lord Mandelson is standing in white underwear, talking to a woman in a bathrobe

Peter Mandelson (left) with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels in 2007

A spokesman for the law firm said: ‘Peter Mandelson was arrested yesterday despite an agreement with police that he would voluntarily attend an interview next month.

‘The arrest was made due to an unfounded allegation that he was planning to leave the country and take up permanent residence abroad.

‘There is absolutely no truth to such a suggestion. We asked the Metropolitan Police Service about the evidence relied on to justify the arrest. Peter Mandelson’s top priority is to cooperate with the police investigation and clear his name, as he has done throughout this process.’

Lord Mandelson has previously denied any wrongdoing and said he did not act for financial gain.

He is accused of sending sensitive market-related information to the pedophile financier while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government during the financial crisis.

Documents released by the US Department of Justice suggest that information about potential policy measures, including an ‘asset sale plan’, a tax on bankers’ bonuses and a bailout of the euro, was leaked the day before it was announced in 2010.

It was revealed that the emails were sent after Epstein became a sex offender.

There was speculation on Tuesday that the unusual public statement from Lord Mandelson’s lawyers could turn into a wider complaint about the unfairness of his treatment at the police, giving rise to arguments that Lord Mandelson would not receive a fair trial in any prosecution.

Last week, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by Thames Valley Police on the same charge of misconduct in public office over allegations he passed similarly sensitive information to Epstein while he was Britain’s trade envoy.

But rather than being asked to comply with any bail conditions, the former Duke of York was released under police investigation.

Police bail can only be granted for three months before officers must apply for leave to extend it.

In contrast, there is no similar time limit for a suspect ‘released under investigation’.

On Tuesday the Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the altercation.

But the force has shown no signs of backing down on the need for bail conditions; He merely repeated his initial statements that ‘a 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of abusing public office has been released on bail pending further investigation’.

Lord Mandelson was released on bail until May.