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LONDON: The former UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, resigned from the upper house of parliament on Tuesday, as a scandal over his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein effectively ended his political career.
A pivotal and often controversial figure in British politics, Mandelson, once dubbed the “Prince of Darkness”, has become engulfed in the Epstein maelstrom.
The former minister and ex-EU trade commissioner announced he was resigning from the upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, as of Wednesday, speaker Michael Forsyth told members.
Mandelson, 72, faces allegations that he disclosed market sensitive information and confidential government information to financier Epstein.
Clintons to testify in House probe
“The clerk of the parliaments has today (Tuesday) received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House, effective from February 4 (Wednesday),” Forsyth said.
Documents released by the US Justice Department last week include multiple emails between notable figures and Epstein, who died in by suicide in prison in 2019, often revealing warm relations, illicit financial dealings and private photos.
Mandelson’s decision to quit came shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had “let his country down”.
Starmer told ministers he was “appalled” at the revelations regarding Mandelson, according to a Downing Street readout of a cabinet meeting.
“The alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful,” the prime minister said, adding he was not yet “reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged” on Mandelson’s links with Epstein.
Police probe
Starmer made it clear the government “would cooperate” with any police inquiries into the matter. Police said that they were reviewing reports of possible “misconduct in a public office ... to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation”.
Mandelson served as business secretary from 2008 to 2010 under then prime minister Gordon Brown, who said Tuesday he had written to the force with “relevant” information. Starmer has faced mounting criticism of his initial decision to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, before sacking him last September, less than a year into his post.
The Epstein affair has cast a shadow far beyond the United States, entangling a number of prominent names in Europe. Other documents previously made public and a posthumous memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre prompted King Charles III to last year strip his brother Andrew of all royal titles and order him to leave his 30-room mansion in Windsor.
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April last year, had accused the then prince Andrew of sexual assault. Andrew, who has denied any wrongdoing, paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.
The US Justice Department released what it said would be the final batch of documents, photos and videos from the Epstein files, adding fuel to a political drama that has put pressure on President Donald Trump.
Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of files linked to Epstein, who moved in elite circles for years, cultivating ties with billionaires, politicians, academics and celebrities.
‘Gobsmacking’
On Monday, it emerged that former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, will testify in a US House investigation into Epstein, heading off a potential vote to hold the couple in contempt. Neither Trump nor the Clintons have been accused of criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein’s activities.
Meanwhile, the European Commission said it will look into whether Mandelson, who served as EU trade chief between 2004 and 2008, broke its code of conduct over his Epstein ties.
Mandelson — a back-room architect of Labour’s revival as an electoral force in the 1990s under Tony Blair — quit the party on Sunday to avoid causing “further embarrassment” from the revelations.
Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2026
