UK parliamentary speaker says he tipped off police over possible Mandelson flight risk

The Speaker of the U.K.'s House of Commons said Wednesday he tipped off police that Peter Mandelson, the former ambassador to the U.S. who is facing accusations of leaking information to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was a possible flight risk. Mandelson was arrested Monday at his north London home on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Lawyers for Mandelson, a former senior Cabinet minister, said the arrest was the result of a “baseless suggestion” that he planned to flee the country and was carried out despite an agreement that he would speak to London's Metropolitan Police voluntarily whenever requested.