Mandelson arrested: Will Starmer pay the price?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Late yesterday afternoon Peter Mandelson was led from his London house by two plain clothes police officers with very visible body cameras into an unmarked police car. In the bland euphemism that followed a Met statement told us a 72 year old man had been arrested in Camden.
Today we discuss what this move does to Starmer, his party, and the wider reputation of New Labour. And we have insight into Mandelson’s own state of mind at 4 am this morning. He has denied all criminal wrong doing.
Later, we speak to education secretary Bridget Philipson about the last 24 hours, the last 12 months and her own reforms to special educational needs.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:07.9 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:11.5 | John, I'm just going to interrupt you because we can now confirm that the Metropolitan Police |
| 0:18.5 | are saying that Peter Mandelson has been arrested |
| 0:23.6 | on suspicion of misconduct in public office. |
| 0:29.6 | There is a statement from the Metropolitan Police, |
| 0:32.6 | an update on the investigation into misconduct in public office offences relating to a government |
| 0:40.1 | minister. And like Andrew Mountbatten Windsor last week, he was detained in custody for questioning. |
| 0:48.5 | Only five months ago, Peter Mandelson was standing in the Oval Office of the White House, Britain's ambassador to Washington. |
| 0:58.0 | The former UK ambassador has now been released without charge, but we are all waiting for the Mandelson files. |
| 1:07.4 | Will it start an end with him or will it bring down others in his wake? |
| 1:13.6 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:19.6 | The Newsagents. |
| 1:21.6 | It's John. |
| 1:22.5 | It's Emily. |
| 1:23.3 | And the arrest was not a surprise given what had happened to Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor, |
| 1:29.1 | last week and the release of these documents allegedly sent by Peter Mandelson to Geoffrey |
| 1:37.6 | Epstein, which was the focus of the investigation by Scotland Yard, which particular documents |
| 1:43.2 | we do not know. But late yesterday |
| 1:46.2 | afternoon from his home in Camden, although I'm sure Peter Mandelson would say it's Regents Park |
| 1:52.2 | and not just Camden. He was duly arrested by police in plain clothes, but wearing body can, quite |
| 1:59.0 | interestingly, and taken off to a police station where he |
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