Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed he passed on information about travel plans

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the Commons Speaker for “inadvertently revealing” he was the source of information relating to Lord Mandelson’s arrest.

The apology follows confirmation from Sir Lindsay Hoyle that he passed on information suggesting the peer could be a flight risk.

Lord Mandelson was arrested on Monday as part of an investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office. He was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

Lawyers for Lord Mandelson have criticised the decision to detain him, saying he had already agreed to attend a voluntary interview next month. They argue the arrest was prompted by a “baseless” suggestion he planned to “take up permanent residence abroad”.

The BBC understands that Lord Mandelson’s legal team were initially told the alleged travel information had been passed to police by Lord Forsyth, the Speaker of the House of Lords.

Lord Forsyth denied any involvement, calling the suggestion “entirely false and without foundation”.

Subsequent reports indicated the information had in fact been shared by Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Shortly afterwards, the Commons Speaker confirmed to MPs that he had given “relevant” information to the Metropolitan Police.

He told the House he had acted “in good faith”, considering it to be his “duty and responsibility”.

“It is regrettable this rapidly ended in the media,” he added.

The BBC understands Sir Lindsay had received information during a visit to the British Virgin Islands last week that Lord Mandelson was planning to travel there, and he passed this on to the police.

Senior officers from the Metropolitan Police met Sir Lindsay to explain the situation. The force regards the disclosure of his identity as a serious breach of protocol.

A spokesperson for the Met said: “The Met has apologised to the Speaker of the House of Commons this afternoon for inadvertently revealing information during an investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office.”

The BBC understands that the Speaker of the House of Lords has not yet received an apology.

Sources close to Lord Forsyth said he had arranged an urgent meeting with the Metropolitan Police to seek clarification about how his name came to be mentioned.

They said he wanted to know why he was not contacted when media reports attributed the information to him and why the record was not corrected at the time.

Lord Mandelson’s lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, have written to the Metropolitan Police requesting details of the information and evidence that led to his arrest.

The force is understood to have carried out its own assessment of the credibility of the information before deciding to arrest him.

Lord Mandelson was taken to Wandsworth police station in London for an interview. He was later released on bail and is understood to have surrendered his passport as part of his bail conditions.

The investigation concerns allegations that, while serving as a minister, Lord Mandelson passed market-sensitive government information to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Lord Mandelson maintains that he has not acted criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain. His lawyers have said he intends to co-operate fully with police to “clear his name”