Analysis
Mandelson
v the Met: what the statement issued after his arrest tells us
Ben Quinn
Political
correspondent
Former
Labour MP’s lawyers Mishcon de Reya issued short statement on his behalf that
ended up saying an awful lot
Wed 25
Feb 2026 13.34 GMT
It didn’t
take long for Peter Mandelson to go public. Only a few hours after he was
pictured on Tuesday returning home after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct
in public office, he hit back. His lawyers issued a short statement that said
an awful lot and attempted to pack a punch – several, actually.
It showed
that the veteran of multiple past political controversies intends to do what he
has always done: work the problem.
Here we
break down what the statement said and why it was significant.
Peter
Mandelson was arrested yesterday despite an agreement with the police that he
would attend an interview next month on a voluntary basis.
The first
thing to note is that the statement came from his lawyers at Mishcon de Reya, a
London firm widely regarded as the best and most expensive in the business.
The firm
advises on “the full spectrum of reputation protection and crisis management
issues”. It has acted for politicians and others by preparing them for
appearances before select committees and public inquiries.
The first
line sets the scene. Mandelson had agreed to speak to police voluntarily as
soon as next month.
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.
These are
highly aggressive lines and true to form when it comes to the modus operandi of
both Mishcon and Mandelson.
Remember
the defiant speech he gave after defending his Hartlepool seat in the 2001
general election? “I’m a fighter, not a quitter,” he had exclaimed after
resigning from government for a second time.
We have
asked the MPS for the evidence relied upon to justify the arrest.
This is a
classic legal judo manoeuvre, boldly attempting to flip the focus back on to
the Metropolitan Police Service. The ball is being bounced back into the court
of detectives who will be attempting to walk a politically tortuous line
between proceeding with the investigation in the right way and ensuring no
hostages to fortune are left that could upset a future trial.
“Give us
the evidence you had,” Mishcon and Mandelson are demanding, as the cameras
shift away from the former politician’s home and on to Scotland Yard.
Peter
Mandelson’s overriding priority is to cooperate with the police investigation,
as he has done throughout this process, and to clear his name.
This
asserts that Mandelson sees himself as a law-abiding citizen who will, of
course, adhere to his responsibilities.
It also
makes clear that he is going to fight the substantive allegations. He has said
repeatedly that he made no financial gain. Have his lawyers spotted possible
weaknesses in any potential attempt to charge or prosecute him? Misconduct in
public office is a particularly hard offence to prove.
True to
the form of New Labour briefing, which Mandelson pioneered in the 1990s, the
former MP is understood to have sent a message to friends in the early hours of
Tuesday, hours after he was released from police custody. This was in parallel
to the public statement and sought to continue to shape the public narrative.
The
notion that he was about to “flee to the British Virgin Islands” was “complete
fiction”, the message said.
