Former British government minister Peter Mandelson has resigned as a member of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party after new reports of his ties with U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, media reported on Sunday (2 February).
Mandelson, who was fired by Starmer as Britain's ambassador to the United States last year after previous revelations about his connections to Epstein, said he did not wish to cause "further embarrassment" to the Labour party, the reports said.
"I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this," Mandelson said in a letter to the Labour Party, according to reports.
Documents indicate Epstein paid Lord Mandelson $75,000 (£55,000) in three separate $25,000 transfers in 2003 and 2004.
Mandelson said claims of financial payments from Epstein, reported by British media based on U.S. Justice Department files, were false and would be investigated.
"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," the letter said.
Mandelson was key to the Labour Party's electoral success when Tony Blair was prime minister starting in the 1990s.
He came under scrutiny last year after U.S. lawmakers released documents including a letter in which he called Epstein "my best pal", leading to his dismissal as Britain's envoy in Washington.
Mandelson also had a turbulent earlier career in domestic politics. In 1998, he quit as trade minister over a loan he received from a fellow minister to buy a house amid questions over conflict of interest.
A second stint in the cabinet also ended in a resignation in 2001 when he was forced out over his alleged involvement in a passport scandal involving an Indian billionaire. He was later cleared of acting improperly.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 2nd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
At least 12 people were killed and seven wounded after a Russian drone struck a bus carrying miners in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, government officials said on Sunday (1 February).
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Heavy snow continued to batter northern and western Japan on Saturday (31 January) leaving cities buried under record levels of snowfall and prompting warnings from authorities. Aomori city in northern Japan recorded 167 centimetres of snow by Friday - the highest January total since 1945.
More than 30 people in Venezuela considered to be "political prisoners" were released on Sunday (1 February), legal rights group Foro Penal said, as part of a prisoner release process that families have said is too slow.
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