UK’s former US envoy quits House of Lords amid backlash over Epstein ties

Parliament preparing legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of title after released records show correspondence with Epstein, $75,000 in payments from sex offender in 2003-04

LONDON — The UK’s former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, is stepping down as a member of the upper house of parliament, it was announced Tuesday, as a scandal deepened over his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The veteran Labour politician, former UK government minister and EU trade commissioner, had announced he was resigning from the House of Lords as of Wednesday, Speaker Michael Forsyth told members.

“The clerk of the parliaments has today (Tuesday) received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House, effective from February 4 (Wednesday),” Forsyth said.

The move came shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Mandelson had “let his country down” after a slew of emails released by US authorities, which detailed his cosy ties with the American financier.

Starmer told ministers he was “appalled” at revelations regarding Mandelson that emerged over the weekend, according to a Downing Street readout of a cabinet meeting.

“The alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful,” the prime minister said, adding he was not yet “reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged” regarding Mandelson’s links with Epstein.

Starmer also said he had asked officials to draft legislation to strip Mandelson of his peerage “as quickly as possible” and made it clear the government “would cooperate” with any police inquiries into the matter.

Mandelson will retain the title of lord after he retires unless lawmakers pass legislation to strip it from him — something that has not been done for more than a century.

London’s Metropolitan Police said Monday that they were reviewing reports of a possible “misconduct in a public office… to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation.”

‘Gobsmacking’

Starmer has faced mounting criticism of his initial decision to appoint Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington, before sacking him last September, less than a year into his post, over his ties to Epstein.

The Epstein affair is casting a long shadow over Washington and Europe, entangling some of the most prominent names in politics.

The US Justice Department on Friday released what it said would be the final batch of pages, photos, and videos from the Epstein files, adding fuel to a political drama that has put pressure on President Donald Trump.

Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of investigative files linked to Epstein, who moved in elite circles for years, cultivating ties with billionaires, politicians, academics, and celebrities.

On Monday, it emerged that former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, will testify in a US House investigation into Epstein, heading off a potential vote to hold the couple in contempt.

Neither Trump nor the Clintons have been accused of criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein’s activities.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said Tuesday it will look into whether Mandelson, who served as the EU’s trade chief between 2004 and 2008, broke its code of conduct over his Epstein ties.

Mandelson — a back-room architect of Labour’s revival as an electoral force in the 1990s under Tony Blair — quit the party on Sunday to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” from the slew of revelations.

Bank records released on Friday by the US authorities suggested that in 2009, Mandelson, who was then business secretary, forwarded an economic briefing to Epstein intended for then-leader Gordon Brown, captioning it: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM.”

In May 2010, Mandelson messaged Epstein that “sources tell me 500 b euro bailout” is almost complete. The message was dated hours before European governments announced a 500 billion euro deal to shore up the single currency.

Epstein also appeared to have transferred a total of $75,000 (55,000 pounds) in three payments to accounts linked to the top Labour politician between 2003 and 2004.

Mandelson, 72, told the BBC on Sunday he had no memory of the money transfers and did not know whether the documents were authentic.

His comments were “gobsmacking” and caused the public “to lose faith in all politicians,” Starmer told his cabinet.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein was “a betrayal on so many levels.”

“It is a betrayal of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein that he continued that association and that friendship for so long after his conviction,” Streeting told the BBC. “It is a betrayal of not just one but two prime ministers” — Gordon Brown, the UK leader between 2007 and 2010, and Starmer.

An email requesting comment on the documents was sent to Mandelson through the House of Lords.

Epstein died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019, while awaiting trial on US federal charges accusing him of sexually abusing dozens of girls.