Peter Mandelson, former Labor Party minister and former United Kingdom ambassador to the United States, decided to leave his seat in the House of Lords – the upper house of the British Parliament – this Tuesday (3) following revelations about his links with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, including receiving financial resources from the American.
According to an official statement from the House of Lords, the Speaker of the House, Baron Michael Forsyth of Drumlean, reported that the Secretary of Parliaments has received formal notification from Peter Mandelson of his decision to withdraw from the Upper House, with immediate effect from 4 February, “in the public interest and for the convenience of the House”.
The removal comes after British Prime Minister, Labor Keir Starmer, announced that he had begun the process to strip Mandelson of the title of “lord” and his lifetime seat in Parliament. According to Starmer, a legal opinion was ordered to make the revocation possible “as quickly as possible”, in addition to the urgent review of all information related to the former minister’s link with Epstein.
According to the new Epstein files, released by the United States Department of Justice last week, Mandelson allegedly received US$75,000 from Epstein in three transfers carried out between 2003 and 2004. The revelations intensified the scandal surrounding the relationship between the two, especially after the release of emails that would indicate exchanges of information during the period in which Mandelson held high-ranking positions in the British government.
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had opened an investigation into allegations of alleged “misconduct in public office” against Mandelson, following accusations that he had shared sensitive British government documents with Epstein. The former ambassador denies wrongdoing.
Mandelson had renounced his membership of the Labor Party on Sunday (1st). In a statement, he stated that he took the decision to avoid “further embarrassment” for the party in light of the new revelations made public in the United States.
Mandelson stepped down as British ambassador to Washington last year. Epstein died in August 2019 while in custody in an American federal prison.
