Metropolitan Police Service

Rule Changes

Conducting criminal investigation into Mandelson

Morgan McSweeney, who engineered Labour's 2024 landslide, resigned on February 8, 2026, taking responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Communications Director Tim Allan quit the next day—the fourth comms chief to leave Starmer's administration in 18 months.

Updated 2 days ago

New Capabilities

High-profile adopter of live facial recognition, used as a pro-expansion case study

In December 2025, the Edmonton Police Service began testing Axon body cameras with third-party facial-recognition software. The watchlist contained 6,341 people flagged for risks like 'violent or assaultive,' 'armed and dangerous,' or 'high-risk offender,' plus 724 with serious warrants—roughly 7,000 faces. Officers didn't get real-time alerts; instead, footage was analyzed to test accuracy and workflows.

Updated May 10

Rule Changes

Contacting former royal protection officers as part of evidence gathering

The last time British police arrested a senior member of the royal family, the monarch in question lost his head. Nearly four centuries later, on February 19, 2026, Thames Valley Police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — the former Prince Andrew and brother of King Charles III — on suspicion of misconduct in public office, making him the first senior British royal to face criminal investigation in modern history. The next day, police executed search warrants at Royal Lodge, a 30-room Windsor estate, and Wood Farm in Norfolk, seizing potential evidence.

Updated Feb 20