Labour Lord resigns from party following release of Jeffrey Epstein documents | Politics | News
Lord Mandelson was removed from his post as US Ambassador last year (Image: Getty)
Lord Peter Mandelson said he was resigning as a member of the Labor Party following new revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The colleague, who was sacked as US ambassador last year over his links to Epstein, said he had decided to avoid “further embarrassment” to the party.
Mandelson, who was removed from his post as US ambassador last year due to his ties to Epstein, was named in documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday regarding the pedophile financier. Tony Blair’s former key ally announced on Sunday evening that he had written a letter to Labor Party general secretary Hollie Ridley stating that he was quitting his membership of the party. In his letter, he said: “This weekend I became even more involved in the understandable anger surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, and I am remorseful and sorry about that.
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Lord Mandelson was sacked last year following the publication of similar documents regarding Epstein. (Image: Getty)
“Allegations that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, which I believe to be false and of which I have no record or recollection, need to be investigated by me.
“I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labor Party by doing this and that is why I am resigning from the party.”
The former MP has been a member of the party since his teenage years and became an integral part of Labour’s rebranding as New Labor under Tony Blair; He was known for his behind-the-scenes insights as the party rode to a landslide election victory in 1997.
He held various senior positions in government under Prime Minister Tony Blair and later Gordon Brown. He served as Secretary of State for Trade and Commerce in 1998 and as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 1999 and 2001.
But his political career has never been free from controversy; Mandelson was forced to resign twice after becoming embroiled in controversy over his loan and passport application.
Despite this, he was appointed a life peer to the House of Lords in 2008.
Emails released by the US Department of Justice on Friday appear to show a discussion between Epstein and Lord Mandelson in 2009 as they discussed a tax on bankers’ bonuses.
In them, Mandelson appears to have told the pedophile financier that he was “trying hard” to change his policy on bankers’ bonuses shortly after Gordon Brown’s government imposed restrictions on them in the wake of the financial crisis.
Mandelson said he took the decision to save Labor from ‘further embarrassment’ (Image: Getty)
His colleague, who was dismissed from his post as US ambassador last year due to his connections to Epstein, was featured throughout the document dump.
In an e-mail dated December 15, 2009, apparently from Epstein, he writes: “Is there any chance of paying the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers’ bonus?”
Apparently the response from Lord Mandelson is: “I’m trying to fix it, as I explained to Jes last night. It’s digging for treasure, but I’m ready.”
The emails suggest his counterpart, the then business secretary, was prepared to lobby the Government over the so-called “super tax” introduced by then-chancellor Alistair Darling at the beginning of December 2009 to restrict bank profits being used to pay huge bonuses to bankers in the wake of the financial crisis.
Lord Mandelson told the Press Association: “Every bank in the UK and international bank was having the same discussion about the impact this would have on financial services in the UK.
“My discussions in government at the time reflected the views of the industry as a whole, not just one person.”
He also said he did not remember receiving payments totaling $75,000 from Epstein while he was a Labor MP.
