Another Brit With Ties to Epstein Arrested in the UK

@ChipmunkErnie That's right, though no-one yet has been charged.

That won't happen until and unless the Police find sufficient evidence of law-breaking to stand examination in a Coyrt of Law (as normal legal practice); but the potential charge, "Misconduct in Public Office", can be wide-ranging.

If either man is charged, they may have a long wait for their trial due to a sizeable backlog in hearings.

Though not itself a matter of Law, Parliament is also wanting to know how and why Peter Mandelson was appointed an Ambassador. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as a trade-envoy was allegedly Mandelson's suggestion, more than twenty years ago.

@ArishMell Much of it seems to depend on interpretation of the Official Secrets Act?

@ChipmunkErnie Possibly, but the Misconduct charge is a lot older than the Official Secrets Act, in fact it dates back some centuries.

There are different grades of confidentially under the OSA, but even if an official document is not Classified under that it is still the responsibility of any of its holders to maintain confidentality to only those authorised to read it, just as one would expect of an employee of a business.

So whether the OSA is involved would depend on the nature of the information and the act. Cases under the MPO name are not common anyway, but mainly financial corruption, undue personal connections, and wilful negligence.

.....

Edit:
By chance I have learnt a bit more about "Misconduct in Public Office". It is not rigidly defined Statute Law, but Common, or Case, Law; and can be used to cover situations not envisaged when it first surfaced. One of the biggest prosecutions under it was a financial-corruption case in the 1780s.

It also facing replacement by two new, Statute Laws.