Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party to avoid causing “further embarrassment” after a weekend of further revelations over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The peer, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein, featured in documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday relating to the paedophile financier.
Among them were files that suggested Epstein had made $75,000 in payments to Lord Mandelson between 2003 and 2004, when he was a Labour MP.
On Sunday evening, Lord Mandelson wrote to Labour’s general secretary: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.
“Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. While doing this I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party.”
He added: “I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now. I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labour Party and in taking my decision, I believe I am acting in its best interests.”
Speaking over the weekend, Lord Mandelson had said he had no recollection of receiving the alleged payments from Epstein, and said he did not know if the documents were genuine. From the documents, it is unclear if the payments made it to any named accounts.
Other documents from the release appeared to show Lord Mandelson suggesting to Epstein in December 2009 he was “trying hard” to change policy on bankers’ bonuses not long after Gordon Brown’s government clamped down on them in the wake of the financial crisis. He told the BBC on Sunday: “My conversations in government at the time reflected the views of the sector as a whole not a single individual.”
Another file showed a man who appears to be Lord Mandelson in a series of undated photographs, standing in his pants and a T-shirt alongside a woman whose face has been obscured. The peer told the BBC he “cannot place the location or the woman, and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.
Epstein served an 18-month prison sentence from 2008 until July 2009 after pleading guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution.
Last month, Lord Mandelson apologised to Epstein’s victims for remaining friends with the financier after his conviction. He had said it was “misplaced loyalty” and “a most terrible mistake on my part”. Lord Mandelson also suggested Epstein excluded him from the “sexual side” of his life because he was gay.
On Sunday night, The Telegraph reported that Lord Mandelson was set to be summoned to give evidence before Congress over his relationship with Epstein.
The newspaper claimed sources close to the US House Oversight Committee believed he may have information about co-conspirators and enablers of his crimes. There is no suggestion Lord Mandelson has done anything unlawful.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as the ambassador to Washington DC last year after revelations of his continued contact with Epstein following the paedophile’s guilty plea in 2008. At the time of his appointment in December 2024, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership [between the UK and US] from strength to strength.”
On Saturday, Sir Keir said: “In relation to Peter Mandelson, obviously he was removed as ambassador in relation to the further information that came to light in September of last year and I’ve nothing more to say in relation to Peter Mandelson.”
After Lord Mandelson’s resignation from the party, a Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously and they are investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”
The Conservatives called for a “full and thorough independent investigation” into Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador. Before Lord Mandelson’s resignation, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had called on Sir Keir to suspend his party membership.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Lord Mandelson is completely disgraced. Yet Keir Starmer lacked the backbone to take action, allowing Mandelson to resign from the Labour Party instead of kicking him out.
“Keir Starmer and his chief of staff appointed Mandelson ambassador despite his relationship with Epstein, and then refused to act even as the mountain of evidence against him grew. Given the prime minister’s appalling lack of judgment and the participation of his Downing Street operation, there must now be a full and thorough independent investigation.”
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk
