More details on Mandelson’s arrest
Vikram Dodd
Vikram Dodd is the Guardian’s crime correspondent.
Peter Mandelson was led to a waiting car by detectives without being placed in handcuffs. This is after police assessed the former cabinet minister did not present a risk of violence or trying to flee.
Met detectives investigating Mandelson have had discussions with lawyers from the special crime division of the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorises criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.
As yet the discussions are described as informal, but no formal early investigative advice has yet been sought nor offered.
The CPS’s special crime division is also the part of the prosecution service that would consider the misconduct in office case against the former Prince Andrew.
Key events
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Closing summary
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Early evening summary
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More details on Mandelson’s arrest
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Tories claim Send reform plans ‘recipe for disaster’ because extra funding won’t compensate for higher workload
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Jones confirms government ‘not ruling out’ any action on Mountbatten-Windsor being in respect of succession
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Met statement on arrest of Mandelson
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Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
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Darren Jones tells MPs first batch of Mandelson documents demanded by humble address to be released ‘in early March’
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Starmer attacks Green party’s drugs policy as ‘disgusting’ on byelection visit to Gorton and Denton
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Josh Simons wrong to tell Labour colleagues that Cabinet Office inquiry concluded he did not break ministerial code, MPs told
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Thinktanks welcome Send reform plans
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Allegations against Josh Simons in relation to Labour Together smear claims are ‘disputed’, MPs told
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Tories say it is ‘difficult to see’ how Josh Simons can stay on as government minister given Labour Together smear claims
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Inquiry by PM’s ethics adviser into Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons to concluded ‘very soon’, MPs told
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Lib Dems welcome Send plans as ‘solid steps’ to improve system
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Starmer urged to offer indefinite leave to remain to Ukrainian refugees
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Councils welcome Send plans, and in particular plans to ‘rebalance’ tribunal system
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Keir Starmer opens investigation into Josh Simons over targeting of reporters
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Reform UK accused of having ‘un-Christian’ migration policy – as it claims it would defend UK’s Christian heritage
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Charities condemn Reform UK’s migration plans as ‘sadistic’ and ‘abhorrent’ – as Tories claim Farage’s plans same as theirs
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NEU teachers’ union welcomes ‘ambition’ of Send plans, but insists ‘real additional resources’ needed
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‘Nothing off the table’ in UK response to latest Trump tariffs, No 10 says
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Martin Lewis ambushes Badenoch on Good Morning Britain over student loans plan
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How DfE expects proportion of children going to independent special schools to fall under its plans
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3 layers of Send support available under new system, and how tribunal system would operate
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Phillipson says Send reforms needed ‘even if money were no object’ because current outcomes not good enough
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DfE publishes consultation paper on Send reforms
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Phillipson says plan to double duration of full maternity pay for teachers will make ‘huge difference’ to retention
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Phillipson says reforms will lead to ‘expansion’ in rights for Send children because of new ISPs
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Phillipson seeks to reassure parents worried getting EHCPs will get harder, saying they shouldn’t be ‘only way’ to get help
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Council for Disabled Children, representing Send sector, welcomes ‘scale of vision’ in government’s plans
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About 270,000 fewer children in England to get EHCPs under Send overhaul
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NAHT school leaders’ union welcomes £4bn extra funding for Send provision as ‘significant’
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Starmer says ‘inclusion works’, arguing some Send pupils will do better in mainstream than in special schools
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IFS says extra Send money for schools amounts to ‘reasonably significant change’
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Starmer says his determination to improve Send driven in part by memory of his brother Nick who had difficulties learning
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What DfE says about how it will spend £4bn improving Send provision
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Teaching unions dismiss £4bn pledged for Send overhaul as ‘drop in bucket’
Closing summary
This blog is now closing. Thank you for following along, here are the top stories from today:
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Former Green party co-leader, Carla Denyer, has said it is “absolutely right” that Peter Mandleson was arrested for questioning.
In a post on X, she said: “About time. Absolutely right that Mandelson is arrested for questioning. We owe so much to the bravery of the women who fought to get the Epstein files released. We must have full accountability from Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor.”
About time. Absolutely right that Mandelson is arrested for questioning. We owe so much to the bravery of the women who fought to get the Epstein files released.
We must have full accountability from Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor https://t.co/AGj8AnFMhE
— Carla Denyer (@carla_denyer) February 23, 2026
Early evening summary
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
This is what the Press Association has filed on the arrest of Peter Mandelson.
Footage shown by broadcasters shows a plain clothed police officer leading Lord Mandelson out of a house.
Lord Mandelson then gets into the left rear seat of a waiting unmarked Ford Focus police car.
The male police officer then gets into the right rear passenger seat.
A female police officer gets into the front seat of the car before it is driven away.
In the Commons Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, responded to Phillipson on behalf of his party. His son, who is severly disabled, has an EHCP and Davey said that, like other parents, he had been “dreading” today because he was worried about provision being cut back. He asked for an assurance that parents, “the real experts on their children”, would be consulted about changes to EHCPs.
Back in the Commons, responding to her Tory opposite number, Laura Trott (see 5.38pm), the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said that most of the problems within the Send system were left by the last government and that “an ounce of humility, an ounce of contrition” would have been appropriate.
Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, has been on Times Radio. Asked about the arrest of Peter Mandelson, she said:
The police will do what they need to do and will pursue the investigation as they see fit and I think that’s the most important thing for people like me to say at this moment in time.
More details on Mandelson’s arrest
Vikram Dodd
Vikram Dodd is the Guardian’s crime correspondent.
Peter Mandelson was led to a waiting car by detectives without being placed in handcuffs. This is after police assessed the former cabinet minister did not present a risk of violence or trying to flee.
Met detectives investigating Mandelson have had discussions with lawyers from the special crime division of the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorises criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.
As yet the discussions are described as informal, but no formal early investigative advice has yet been sought nor offered.
The CPS’s special crime division is also the part of the prosecution service that would consider the misconduct in office case against the former Prince Andrew.
Tories claim Send reform plans ‘recipe for disaster’ because extra funding won’t compensate for higher workload
In the Commons Bridget Phillipson is now making her statement about Send reform and the education white paper. She covered some of the points that she made in her speech earlier.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, was responding for the Conservatives, and she highlighted a series of concerns with the plans.
She said it was not clear under the proposals which children would continue to get an EHCP.
And she claimed it was not clear who would get an ISP, or what support they might get.
She also said the extra money being allocated for schools (see 9.50am) was “nowhere near enough” to pay for the extra work being generate
That’s nowhere near enough for the extra work that schools are going to have to cover to write individual, tailored ISPs for every child. This is a mammoth burden to place on schools, one that I don’t necessarily think is misplaced, but £24,000 a year is not enough to help them manage it. It’s not a recipe for inclusion. It’s a recipe for disaster.
She ended by saying:
We support the principle of reform. But there is precious little clarity for Send parents today.
Jones confirms government ‘not ruling out’ any action on Mountbatten-Windsor being in respect of succession
In his statement to MPs about the release of Peter Mandelson documents required by the humble address motion, Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, also referred to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor last week. He said:
I understand there’s been a high level of public interest in the news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last Thursday and what may follow.
The government is clear that we are not ruling out action in respect of the line of succession at this stage, and we will consider whether any further steps are required in due course.
It is vital, however, that we first allow the police to carry out their investigations.
I know they will have the full support of the government, and I’m sure this House, as they do so.
Met statement on arrest of Mandelson
Here is the Met police statement in full.
It is headlined: “Update on investigation into misconduct in public office offences relating to a former government minister.”
A Met spokesperson said:
Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview.
This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.
Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
Peter Mandelson has been arrested by the police, the Press Association reports.
Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police said.
The Times has this picture.
