UK’s Peter Mandelson resigns from Labour party after Epstein ties resurface

Former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson quit the Labour Party Sunday, seeking to avoid causing it "further embarrassment" after newly released US documents revived scrutiny of his connection to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson, 72, who was sacked as Britain's ambassador to the United States last year over his ties to Epstein, allegedly received several payments from Epstein in the early 2000s, according to documents released on Friday by the US Department of Justice and reported in British media Sunday.

"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," Mandelson wrote in a letter to Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley.

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"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, saying he felt "regretful and sorry about this".

Bank records released by the US Justice Department suggest Epstein transferred a total of $75,000 (55,000 pounds) in three payments to bank accounts linked to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004.

Speaking earlier Sunday on the BBC, Mandelson said he had no memory of the transfers and did not know whether the documents were authentic.

Mandelson also appears in newly released, undated photographs, wearing a T-shirt and underwear beside a woman whose face has been redacted by US authorities.

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He told the BBC he "cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were".

PM calls for his removal from House of Lords

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacted to the news by calling for Mandelson to be removed from parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords.

“He (Starmer) is calling on those in the Lords to work with the government to modernise disciplinary procedures in the House to allow for the easier removal ‍of Lords who have brought the House into disrepute,” Starmer’s spokesperson said, adding Starmer had instructed the cabinet secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein.

Starmer does not have the power to remove Mandelson.

Other documents suggest Epstein sent 10,000 pounds in 2009 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, Mandelson's partner, at a time when Mandelson was serving as a government minister.

The former ambassador was removed from his post in September after being appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in late 2024.

Mandelson apologised in January for maintaining his friendship with Epstein, having initially refused to do so on the grounds that he was not complicit.

Former prince Andrew, stripped of his royal titles last year over his ties to Epstein, was also named in the files released on Friday.

A second woman alleged Sunday that Epstein sent her to Britain in 2010 for a sexual encounter with Andrew, her lawyer told the BBC.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)