Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned his membership of the party after the latest batch of Epstein files revealed more of his links to the billionaire sex offender.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice at the weekend show thousands of pounds were paid to Mandelson and his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva by Epstein.
Those payments continued after the disgraced financier had been released from prison.
Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US – seen as one of the top jobs in British diplomacy – last year over his friendship with Epstein.
In a letter to Labour Party general secretary Hollie Ridley on Sunday night, he said he feels ‘regretful and sorry’ about the stories that emerged in the past two days.
He continued: ‘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.
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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.’
Mandelson has been a major figure in Labour politics for four decades, and had two spells as Business Secretary under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
But he has often attracted controversy over his long career, resigning twice from his Cabinet positions over accusations of dodgy dealings.
Emails in the latest release include one in which he tells Epstein he was trying to get then-Chancellor Alistair Darling to ‘amend’ a tax on bankers’ bonuses – while he was Business Secretary.
He also suggests JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon should ‘mildly threaten’ Darling.
Meanwhile, newly released images from Epstein’s archive include one showing Mandelson in just his underwear and a T-shirt speaking to an unidentified woman.
Who is Reinaldo Avila da Silva?
The new Epstein files released over the weekend place a new spotlight on Reinaldo Avila da Silva, Peter Mandelson’s husband.
Mandelson became a member of the House of Lords in 2008, and now faces calls to be stripped of that position too.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn reacted to the resignation news with a post on X saying: ‘Starmer was too weak to remove him. Now he must be booted out the Lords.’
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