Peter Mandelson condemns police for arresting him after ‘baseless suggestion that he was planning to leave the country and take up permanent residence abroad’

Lord Peter Mandelson today condemned police for arresting him, claiming the action was motivated by an ‘unfounded’ suggestion he planned to leave Britain.

Akran was detained for approximately nine hours after his arrest on Monday on suspicion of abuse of public office.

At around 1.15am on Tuesday, the 72-year-old man was photographed being escorted out of Wandsworth Police Station after being released on bail.

He is being investigated for passing sensitive information to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein while serving as trade secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.

A statement issued on Tuesday evening by law firm Mishcon de Reya on behalf of Lord Mandelson said the arrest took place despite him agreeing to voluntarily attend a police interview next month.

The statement also claimed that the former minister’s arrest “was due to an unfounded allegation that he was planning to leave the country and obtain permanent residence abroad.”

The letter said: ‘Peter Mandelson was arrested yesterday despite an agreement with the 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 MPS 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.’

More to follow…