UK’s Mandelson to resign from House of Lords over Epstein ties

Police are looking into allegations Peter Mandelson may have passed sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein.Published On 3 Feb 2026British politician Peter Mandelson is stepping down from the United Kingdom’s upper house of Parliament amid renewed scrutiny and the prospect of a criminal review into his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The speaker of the House of Lords, Michael Forsyth, said on Tuesday that Mandelson, 72, had notified the chamber of his intention to resign. Forsyth said the move would come into effect on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Howard Lutnick face new scrutiny over Epstein tieslist 2 of 3US Department of Justice releases 3 million new Epstein fileslist 3 of 3UK PM Starmer urges ex-Prince Andrew to cooperate in Epstein files probeend of listMandelson, a former UK ambassador to the United States and longtime senior figure in the country’s Labour Party, has come under intense pressure following the release of a new tranche of US government documents related to Epstein.The material includes emails from Mandelson to Epstein sharing political insights, including market-sensitive information during the 2008 financial crisis that critics say may have broken the law.British police have said they are assessing reports of possible misconduct “to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation”.The files also include bank documents suggesting Epstein transferred tens of thousands of dollars to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Mandelson has said he does not recall such transactions and will examine the documents.Additional material includes emails suggesting a friendly relationship between the two men after Epstein’s 2008 convictions for sex offences, as well as an image showing Mandelson in his underwear beside a woman whose face was obscured by US authorities.