Image: from Alethea Bernard X@Tush27J
By Open Chronicle with Agencies
LONDON — Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party, citing a desire to avoid causing “further embarrassment” to the government following explosive new revelations regarding his historical ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The resignation, announced on Sunday evening, follows the release of more than three million pages of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice. The files appear to show that Epstein transferred approximately $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004, a period during which he served as a Member of Parliament. Mandelson has denied receiving the payments, stating he has “no record or recollection” of the transactions.
THEY GAVE EACH OTHER POSITIONS OF POWER: Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953), is a British politician, lobbyist and former diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004 and served in the Cabinets of Tony Blair and… pic.twitter.com/umLcSizTSt
— BLACK DUMPLING™ (@BlackDumpling) February 1, 2026
The fallout intensified on Monday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Mandelson to step down from the House of Lords and relinquish his noble title. “The Prime Minister is very clear. He should not be a member of the House of Lords,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The newly released documents also suggest a deeper level of political interference than previously known. Emails from 2009 appear to show Mandelson, then serving as Business Secretary, advising Epstein on how to lobby the UK government against a proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses. In one exchange, Mandelson reportedly told Epstein he was “trying hard to amend” policy at the financier’s request.
Further allegations involve the “treacherous” leaking of sensitive government memos. Current reports suggest Mandelson forwarded internal economic briefings to Epstein at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. Both the Metropolitan Police and the Cabinet Secretary are now reviewing these claims to determine if they meet the threshold for a criminal investigation into misconduct in public office.
Mandelson, a key architect of the “New Labour” movement in the 1990s, was already a figure of intense scrutiny after being sacked from his post as UK Ambassador to the United States last year due to earlier revelations of his friendship with Epstein.
In his resignation letter to Labour General Secretary Hollie Ridley, Mandelson expressed regret for his past association with the late sex offender, stating: “I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.”
Opposition leaders, including the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party, have demanded a full independent inquiry into how Mandelson was appointed to the prestigious Washington post despite his known links to Epstein.