Lord Mandelson Resigns From Labour Party After Latest Jeffrey Epstein Revelations
Lord Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” following further revelations about his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The peer, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein, featured in a fresh batch of documents appearing to show him receiving $75,000 from the late financier.
In one bank statement, a payment of $25,000 to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Lord Mandelson’s husband, features on May 14, 2003.
The statement appears to describe “Peter Mandelson” as the beneficiary of the payment.
Two later statements from May and June 2004 also feature $25,000 payments to Mandelson, one to an account which appears in his name, and another in which he appears to be listed as a beneficiary.
The peer told the BBC he had no recollection of receiving the payments, and did not know if the documents were genuine.
However the revelations led to calls from Labour and opposition MPs for Keir Starmer to kick him out of the party.
Mandelson said he had written on Sunday evening to Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley to say he was quitting the party.
In his letter, he said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.
“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.”
Elsewhere in the newly-released Epstein documents, undated photographs of Lord Mandelson show him in a T-shirt and his pants, standing in what appears to be a hotel room.
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