What is misconduct in public office?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson were both arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office - but what is the offence?

Misconduct in public office refers to "serious wilful abuse or neglect" of powers relating to the role in public office, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

It states there must be a direct link between the misconduct and an abuse of those powers or responsibilities without reasonable excuse or justification.

Andrew and Lord Mandelson have consistently denied any wrongdoing.

An 'unusual' offence

Joshua Rozenberg, a legal commentator, told Sky News that it is an "unusual" offence "because it's one created by the judges, laid down by the courts over many years" - instead of statute, also known as a common law offence.

He said: "For that reason, there isn't actually a maximum penalty at all. It's life imprisonment because parliament has never actually set a maximum."

The CPS website states there is no simple definition of a 'public officer', meaning each case must be assessed individually.

This includes taking into account the nature of the role, the duties carried out, and the level of public trust involved.

How does this relate to Andrew and Lord Mandelson?

The British Monarchy acts as a public institution in a non-political sense, with members of the Royal Family expected to support the monarch while also carrying out work in areas of public and charitable service in their own right.

Andrew also served as the UK's trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, a role which aims to try to advance the interests of British business owners overseas.

Lord Mandelson, however, was business secretary from 2008 to 2010, when Gordon Brown was prime minister.

Mr Rozenberg said in the past the offence has applied to police officers and prison officers as well as, occasionally, government ministers, members of Parliament and others who hold high office in a public position.

He added that he thinks the law would apply to the position of trade envoy, but the difficulty for the prosecution lies in proving Andrew "wilfully neglected to perform his duty or wilfully misconducted himself".

He said the CPS will already be advising the police on the evidence they need to look for and what is required to bring about a charge.

Due to the "complicated" nature of the offence, Mr Rozenberg said the government is trying to replace it with a new law, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

Part of the bill covers misconduct in public office, stating that a person commits an offence if they use "their office to obtain a benefit, whether for themselves or somebody else, or to cause somebody else to suffer a detriment".

(c) Sky News 2026: What is misconduct in public office?