Sir Peter Mandelson, one of Britain’s Labor Party’s most prominent historical politicians and a shadowy figure of the Tony Blair era, has announced his resignation from membership to avoid “further embarrassment” for the ruling party, in the wake of the revelation of a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice last Friday.
Mr Mandelson, 72, said in a letter to Labour’s general secretary Holly Ridley: “This week my name has once again been associated with the well-deserved controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, for which I feel deep regret and remorse.”
The famous British politician added: “While I am personally investigating allegations that I believe to be false regarding unrecorded and unremembered financial payments I received 20 years ago, I do not wish to embarrass the Labor Party any further, so I am resigning as a member of the party.”
The new documents, considered one of the biggest disclosures ever, include photographs and bank statements, causing widespread uproar in British political and media circles. They included financial records showing $75,000 worth of transfers in 2003 and 2004 from Jeffrey Epstein’s account to accounts associated with Mandelson and her husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, paid in three installments of $25,000 each, according to JPMorgan bank statements.
The documents also included an undated personal photograph of Lord Mandelson in his underwear, his face obscured by US authorities, talking to an unidentified woman, as well as past correspondence in which Lord Mandelson’s husband asked Epstein to fund a physiotherapy course for £10,000 in 2009, and Epstein complied.
Mr. Mandelson again denied any knowledge of these transfers or the authenticity of the documents, stressing that he would personally investigate them, and repeating his deep regret for never knowing Mr. Epstein.
Peter Mandelson is considered one of the architects of New Labor, and held important cabinet positions in the Blair and Brown governments, including minister for trade and industry and minister for Northern Ireland, before becoming European Trade Commissioner.
In 2025, he was appointed British ambassador to Washington, but was removed in September 2025 after emails were leaked showing that Epstein continued to communicate with him after he was convicted of prostitution and sexual exploitation of minors in 2008.
Sir Peter Mandelson, one of Britain’s Labor Party’s most prominent historical politicians and a shadowy figure during the Tony Blair era, announced his resignation from the party to avoid “further embarrassment” for the ruling party after the US Department of Justice released a new set of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein last Friday.
Mr Mandelson, 72, said in a letter to Labor general secretary Holly Ridley: “This week my name has once again been associated with the understandable controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, for which I feel deep regret and remorse.”
The famous British politician added: “While I am personally investigating allegations that I believe to be false regarding allegations of unrecorded and unremembered financial payments I received 20 years ago, I do not wish to embarrass the Labor Party any further, so I am resigning as a member of the party.”
The new documents include the largest set of images and bank reports ever released, including images of Mandelson and his family from Jeffrey Epstein’s accounts in 2003 and 2004, according to JPMorgan Bank Reports. The documents also included financial records showing that $75,000 was transferred to accounts linked to her husband, Reynaldo Ávila da Silva, in three separate transfers of $25,000 each, causing an uproar in British political and media circles.
The document also includes an undated personal photograph of Lord Mandelson in his underwear and talking to an unidentified woman, whose face was hidden by US authorities. It also contained earlier correspondence showing that Lord Mandelson’s husband asked Epstein to fund a £10,000 physiotherapy course in 2009, which Epstein agreed to.
Mr. Mandelson again denied knowledge of these funds transfers or the authenticity of the documents, confirmed his intention to personally investigate, and reiterated his deep regret for having known Mr. Epstein.
Peter Mandelson is considered one of the architects of New Labor, and held important cabinet positions in the Blair and Brown governments, including Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Northern Ireland, and later became European Trade Commissioner.
He was appointed British ambassador to Washington in 2025, but was removed in September 2025 after leaked emails showed he continued to communicate with Epstein even after he was convicted of prostitution and sexual exploitation of minors in 2008.
