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.
The announcement comes at the end of a weekend of growing pressure over his relationsip with the convicted sex offender, following the release of than three million documents by the US Department of Justice on Friday.
Conversations between the peer and Epstein featured in some of the so-called Epstein files. Lord Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein,
Lord Mandelson said he had written on Sunday evening to Hollie Ridley, general secretary of the Labour Party to say he was stepping down from his party membership.
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.”
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