Police in the United Kingdom announced a criminal investigation Tuesday into Peter Mandelson, Britain's former ambassador to the United States, after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released millions of court documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Ella Marriot in London said following the DOJ documents dump, the Met received "a number of reports" into alleged misconduct in public office, including a referral from the UK government.

"I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offenses," Marriot wrote in a statement.

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"The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won’t be commenting any further at this time," she added.

Mandelson resigned Sunday from the governing Labour Party amid allegations he received $75,000 in payments from Epstein and shared sensitive government information after the 2008 financial crisis.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer abruptly fired Mandelson from his ambassadorial position in September following the release of emails between Mandelson and Epstein.

Starmer on Monday requested an urgent review of Mandelson’s communications with Epstein while he was in office.

The House of Lords announced on Tuesday Mandelson is stepping down.

"He will cease to be a member tomorrow," the House of Lords told Fox News Digital. "We have no comment on any possible police investigation."

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody.

He was awaiting trial on charges including sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Talks between the U.K. and the U.S. over the future of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean have reportedly reopened after President Donald Trump’s comments cast doubt over an agreement that would see Britain hand sovereignty of the strategically vital archipelago to Mauritius.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed Wednesday that the U.K. had reopened discussions after the president had panned the deal and branded it an "act of great stupidity," GB News reported.

"Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," Trump had posted on Truth Social. "There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness."

He added: "The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired."

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The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius during Britain’s decolonization process, a move the International Court of Justice ruled unlawful in 2019. 

The U.K. later agreed to transfer sovereignty while leasing Diego Garcia back for at least 99 years at a cost of at least $160 million annually.

Diego Garcia is a hub for long-range bombers, logistics and power projection across the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and Africa. 

Around 2,500 military and civilian personnel, mostly American, are stationed there. The base serves as a critical operation point for the U.S. and plays a central role in intelligence gathering and securing military communications.

Speaking aboard a flight to China, Starmer said he had "discussed Chagos with Donald Trump a number of times," but declined to confirm whether the issue had been raised during a phone call between the two leaders on Sunday, The Financial Times reported.

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Starmer also said the matter "has been raised with the White House at the tail end of last week, over the weekend and into the early part of this week."

Starmer also added that when the Trump administration took office, the U.K. paused the agreement for three months to allow the U.S. time to assess the deal at the agency level.

"Once they’d done that, they were very clear in the pronouncements about the fact that they supported the deal, and there were announcements made," he said.

A Downing Street spokesperson also confirmed London was working to "allay any concerns" in Washington, according to GB News.

"We will continue to engage with the U.S. on this important matter and the importance of the deal to secure U.S. and U.K. interests and allay any concerns, as we’ve done throughout the process," the spokesperson said.

Trump’s comments on the Chagos deal had been welcomed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who wrote on X: "Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Downing Street for comment.

Chinese state-linked hackers breached mobile phones at "the heart of Downing Street" amid a global cyber-espionage campaign over several years targeting telecommunication networks, according to reports.

U.S. officials first alerted its allies in 2024 after finding out that hacking groups had gained access to telecom companies around the world, according to The Associated Press.

The campaign reportedly targeted multiple countries, including the U.S. and the other members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The breaches allegedly gave China access to the phone data of millions and the possible ability to eavesdrop on calls, read text messages and track users’ locations.

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The hackers also had the ability to record calls "at will" according to Anne Neuberger, who was a deputy U.S. national security adviser between January 2021 and January 2025, The Telegraph reported.

Neuberger said that the "Chinese gained access to networks and essentially had broad and full access," giving them the capability to "geolocate millions of individuals, to record phone calls at will."

U.S. intelligence agencies believe the breaches date back to at least 2021, but they were only identified and disclosed by U.S. authorities in 2024.

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In 2024, The Associated Press reported that U.S. federal authorities urged telecommunication companies to boost network security. The guidance, issued by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was to help root out the hackers and prevent similar attacks in the future.

A joint cybersecurity advisory was issued in August 2025, with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and allied partners warning that Chinese state-sponsored actors were targeting networks globally.

"The malicious activity outlined in the advisory partially overlaps with cybersecurity industry reporting on Chinese state-sponsored threat actors referred to by names such as Salt Typhoon," an NSA release said.

In the U.K., officials raised concerns that senior government figures may also have been exposed. One source told The Telegraph that the breach went "right into the heart of Downing Street."

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Similarly, The Telegraph was told that there were "many" different hacking attacks on the phones of Downing Street staff and across wider government, especially when Rishi Sunak was prime minister between 2022 and 2024.

Yuval Wollman, a former Israeli intelligence chief, also told The Telegraph that Salt Typhoon was "one of the most prominent names" in the cyber-espionage world.

"While much of the public reporting has focused on U.S. targets, Salt Typhoon’s operations have extended into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where it has targeted telecoms firms, government entities and technology companies," Wollman of cybersecurity platform CyberProof added.

In the past, China’s foreign ministry dismissed the claims as "baseless" and "lacking evidence," according to The Telegraph.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Downing Street for comment.

The Trump administration has stepped up pressure on Sir Keir Starmer after imposing sanctions on a Britain-based activist accused by U.S. intelligence of working on behalf of Hamas, according to reports.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Jan. 21 that it was "taking action against Hamas’s covert links to nonprofit organizations." 

The statement went on to name six Gaza-based groups and the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA).

U.S. officials said the PCPA operates as a front for Hamas overseas. OFAC also designated Zaher Birawi, 64, accusing him of being a "senior official" in Hamas through his leadership role in the PCPA.

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The Treasury Department said Birawi is a founding member of the organization and part of its general secretariat, alleging the group was used to "clandestinely expand" Hamas’ international influence and fundraising.

This included backing flotillas that attempted to reach Gaza. Some have received public backing from prominent activists, including Greta Thunberg.

"Hamas continues to show a callous disregard for the welfare of the Palestinian people," John K. Hurley, the U.S. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

Hurley added that "the Trump administration will not look the other way while Hamas leadership and enablers exploit the financial system to fund terrorist operations."

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The sanctions have put pressure on the U.K., which has been reviewing possible counterterror measures against Birawi for weeks, according to The Times.

U.K. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it was "good to see" the U.S. take action, adding, "Under no circumstances should Britain be a place of sanctuary for anyone involved in or supportive of terrorist (organizations) like Hamas."

Alex Hearn of Labour Against Antisemitism said Birawi continued to broadcast from London and organize flotillas despite the U.S. designation.

Lord Austin of Dudley has urged the U.K. to examine the intelligence "very carefully."

Birawi, who lives in Barnet in north London, has been in the U.K. for more than 30 years.

He chairs the Palestine Forum in Britain and is a prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the city.

He has been named in Parliament as a security concern, and Israel designated him a Hamas member in 2013, allegations he has consistently denied.

In 2023, Birawi said he is a "law-abiding British citizen" and rejected claims of links to Hamas, saying his work focuses on "defending the national and human rights of Palestinians who survive under occupation."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Birawi and Sir Keir Starmer's office for comment.

The British government intensified its crackdown on AI-generated sexual abuse Monday after ministers confirmed a possible ban on Elon Musk's social media platform X amid a widening probe and with the company potentially incurring hefty fines.

The dramatic move follows the launch of a formal investigation by Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, into whether X breached its legal duties under the U.K.'s Online Safety Act and came after reports that the platform’s built-in AI chatbot, Grok, was used to generate and share sexualized deepfake images of women and children.

Grok was launched in 2023 but its image generator feature, Grok Imagine, was added in 2025 with a specific mode to generate adult content.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall described the recent use of the AI tool being misused to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual images as "deeply disturbing." 

Kendall also warned that social media companies would be held accountable if they failed to act.

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"I welcome Ofcom’s urgency in launching a formal investigation today," Kendall said, according to Reuters. "It is vital that Ofcom complete this investigation swiftly because the public – and most importantly the victims – will not accept any delay."

In a separate statement shared later Monday, Kendall said the Grok AI tool had been used to create and circulate degrading, non-consensual intimate images.

"No woman or child should live in fear of having their image sexually manipulated by technology," she said before adding, "The content which has circulated on X is vile. It is not just an affront to decent society, it is illegal."

Kendall added that sharing or threatening to share deepfake intimate images without consent, including images of people in their underwear, constitutes a criminal offense under U.K. law.

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She warned that Ofcom has the authority to issue "fines worth millions of dollars" or penalties of up to 10% of a company’s qualifying worldwide revenue.

"But X does not have to wait for the Ofcom investigation to conclude," Kendall said. "They can choose to act sooner to ensure this abhorrent and illegal material cannot be shared on their platform," she warned.

Ofcom had said it "urgently made contact" with X on Jan. 5, demanding explanations about the steps being taken to protect U.K. users and setting a response deadline of Jan. 9.

While xAI, another company founded by Musk, responded, Ofcom said it decided to open a formal investigation after reviewing the available evidence "as a matter of the highest priority."

In a statement shared Monday, Ofcom said, "Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning."

"Platforms must protect people in the UK from content that’s illegal in the UK, and we won’t hesitate to investigate where we suspect companies are failing in their duties, especially where there’s a risk of harm to children," the statement said.

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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the chatbot acknowledged in a public post on X that it had generated and shared an AI image depicting two young girls in sexualized attire, calling the incident a "failure in safeguards" and apologizing for the harm caused.

Amid mounting criticism, Grok confirmed it has begun restricting some image-generation and editing features to paying subscribers. The chatbot said the limitations were implemented to prevent further misuse.

Musk also accused the U.K. Government of "fascism" Monday for "arresting thousands of people for social media posts."

The billionaire Tesla founder had responded to a post on X that claimed the country arrests more people for social media posts than "any other country on earth." 

Alongside the Ofcom investigation, the U.K. government announced that legislation criminalizing the creation of non-consensual intimate images generated by AI would come into force this week.

Kendall said responsibility does not rest solely with individuals.

"The platforms that host such material must be held accountable, including X," she said. 

If they do not act, she said she is "prepared to go further."

Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official spokesperson said the government’s presence on the platform was "under review" and that "all options are on the table."

The Associated Press also reported Monday that Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Elon Musk and Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office for comment.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.