Lord Peter Mandelson has said he has resigned from the Labor Party because he does not want to “cause further embarrassment” over his links to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Cabinet secretary, who was fired as U.S. ambassador last year over his past ties to Epstein, appears in the latest documents released by the U.S. Justice Department on Friday.
Documents show Epstein paid Lord Mandelson $75,000 (£55,000) in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004.
In a letter to the Labor Party secretary-general, Lord Mandelson said: “This weekend I was further associated with the understandable anger surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, for which I regret and am sorry.”
He added: “I believe the allegation that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago is false and I have no record or memory of it requiring me to investigate.”
“In doing so, I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labor Party and therefore I resign as a member of the Labor Party.
“I would like to take this opportunity to once again apologize to women and girls whose voices should have been heard long ago.
“I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labor Party and when I make decisions I believe I am acting in the best interests of the Labor Party.”
Earlier on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said he had no record or memory of receiving three payments from Epstein and had no idea whether the documents were authentic.
He reiterated his regret for “knowing Epstein” and continuing to associate with the disgraced financier after his conviction, and offered an “unequivocal apology to the women and girls who have suffered”.
Lord Mandelson was sent to Washington by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in December 2024 as UK ambassador, but was sacked in September the following year after further revelations about his friendship with Epstein.
Emails show that the American financier remained in contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction and sent a series of messages of support.
Photos of the former British ambassador to the United States in their underwear were also discovered in Epstein’s latest dossier.
In one edited photo, he is standing next to a woman, but her face cannot be seen.
Lord Mandelson said he “cannot identify the location or the woman and I cannot imagine the circumstances”.
It is unclear when and where the photos of Lord Mandelson and the woman were taken.
The presence of a name or photo in a document does not indicate wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, emails in documents released on Friday also show Lord Mandelson tried to change government policy on taxing bankers’ bonuses at Epstein’s request.
In December 2009, Lord Mandelson wrote to Epstein that “efforts are under way to amend this.” [the] case. “
At the time Lord Mandelson was Business Secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
Lord Mandelson told the BBC that every UK and international bank had made the same argument about the impact on the UK financial services industry, adding: “My conversations in government at the time reflected the views of the industry as a whole rather than the views of one individual.”
Recently released bank statements, first reported by the Financial Times, appear to show three separate payments made from Epstein’s JPMorgan bank account owned by Lord Mandelson, then the Labor MP for Hartlepool.
The first, dated May 14, 2003, shows a payment being sent to a bank account at Barclays for Lord Mandelson’s then partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, named “A/C”, usually an abbreviation for the account.
In that payment, “Peter Mandelson” was named on the account as “BEN,” which is usually the beneficiary’s abbreviation.
The second and third payments of $25,000 into the HSBC account were made within days of each other in June 2004. In both payments, “Peter Mandelson” was the only person named, again referred to as “BEN”.
It is unclear whether the three payments were deposited into any designated accounts.
Epstein’s 2008 conviction was part of a plea deal he reached in Florida. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges, including soliciting girls as young as 14 for prostitution.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.