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Lord Peter Mandelson said he has resigned from his membership of the Labour Party as he does not wish to cause further embarrassment over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson said he had written this evening to the general secretary of the Labour Party, Hollie Ridley tendering his resignation from the party.
His letter 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.
“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.”
The news comes as newly released emails from the US Department of Justice on Friday show a payment of $25,000 to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Lord Mandelson’s husband, in 2003. Bank statements show two more payments of $25,000 were made to different accounts in Lord Mandelson’s name in 2004. At the time, he was serving as Labour MP for Hartlepool.
Lord Mandelson insisted he doesn’t remember the payments, telling The Mirror: “I have no record and no recollection of receiving these sums and do not know if the documents are authentic. I can say clearly, though, I regret ever having known Epstein.”
Photographs of the former MP, half dressed alongside a woman in a bathrobe, are also among thousands of images released by the US government. Being pictured or mentioned in the Epstein files is not an indicator of any wrongdoing.
