Peter Mandelson, a former Labour heavyweight, has quit the party to avoid further damage from his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted U.S. sex offender who died in 2019.
The move follows the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of millions of Epstein files last Friday, the largest batch under a 2025 law. Bank records from Epstein’s JP Morgan accounts show three $25,000 payments—totalling £55,000—linked to Mandelson in 2003 and 2004, when he was Hartlepool MP.
One went to a Barclays account for his then-partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva, naming Mandelson as beneficiary. Two more hit HSBC accounts soon after. He insists he has no record or memory of the funds and doubts the documents’ accuracy.
In his letter to Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley, Mandelson wrote, “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”
He added, “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. 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.”
He later questioned the files’ legitimacy and renewed regret for “ever having known Epstein,” apologising “unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered.”
Emails showed him aiding Epstein in 2009 against a bankers’ bonus tax as business secretary. Photos depicted him in underwear beside an obscured woman; he cannot recall the scene.
Labour MP Gordon McKee called it the “right thing,” saying victims were “rightly outraged.” Conservatives accused PM Sir Keir Starmer of leniency, with Kemi Badenoch demanding a probe into his sacked 2024-2025 U.S. ambassador role.
Mandelson, grandson of Attlee minister Herbert Morrison, joined Labour staff in the 1980s. Epstein served 18 months in 2008 for underage prostitution charges. Mentions in files do not prove wrongdoing.