Lord Peter Mandelson and Misconduct in Public Office.

Robert Jenrick recently having switched from Conservative to Reform said in the House of Commons “We are told this man leaked confidential information to a convicted sex offender when he was a cabinet minister and took tens of thousands of pounds in secret bank handers”.

He continued “Mandelson has clearly broken the law and now stands accused of serious misconduct in public office and should be tried for his offences”. No allegations. No suspicions. No ‘The police are opening an enquiry’ , no presumption of innocence.

Misconduct in public office is a common law crime and it is so hard to get a successful conviction the law is being changed.

Whatever you think of Mandelson he is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Condemning anyone under the cloak of Parliamentary Privilege is a disgrace when the matter is already in the public domain.

Rodney Hylton-Potts
February 2026