Keir Starmer Faces Pressure To Expel Mandelson Over Epstein Links

Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to expel Lord Mandelson from the Labour Party after the latest revelations about his links to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The peer appears to feature in several bank statements released on Friday in the latest tranche of files related to the disgraced financier by the US government.

In one bank statement, a payment of $25,000 to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Lord Mandelson’s husband, features on May 14, 2003.

The statement appears to describe “Peter Mandelson” as the beneficiary of the payment.

Two later statements from May and June 2004 also feature $25,000 payments to Mandelson, one to an account which appears in his name, and another in which he appears to be listed as a beneficiary.

At the time, he was serving as Labour MP for Hartlepool.

Elsewhere in the newly-released Epstein documents, undated photographs of Lord Mandelson show him in a T-shirt and his pants, standing in what appears to be a hotel room.

Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington last September over his links to Epstein, told the BBC he had no recollection of receiving the payments, and did not know if the documents were genuine.

He finally apologised to Epstein’s victims in January, having initially failed to do so.

Although he has given up the Labour whip in the House of Lords, Mandelson is still listed as one of the party’s peers on the parliamentary website and it is understood he is still a Labour member.

Labour MP Richard Burgon said: “Just how much more appalling news needs to come out about Peter Mandelson before the Labour leadership finally kicks him out of the party?”

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister, said: “Enough is enough. Peter Mandelson knew that his ‘best pal’ Jeffrey Epstein was a convicted sex offender. He continued engaging with him anyway.

“I don’t believe for a second that Mandelson cares about the victims. He put his own interests first. The fact that he’s still a member of the Labour Party is a disgrace.

“The fact that Keir is even considering returning the whip to him in the House of Lords is a disgrace. If Labour is really so concerned about the victims, they should kick him out.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “must act”.

Posting on X, she said: “If Keir Starmer had a backbone he would suspend Mandelson’s membership of the Labour Party and launch an immediate investigation into how Mandelson and his husband were being sent money by the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“At the time Mandelson was Labour’s Business Secretary and acting as Deputy Prime Minister. This is an international scandal. The cover up needs to end. The Prime Minister must act.”

Asked on Sky News whether Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage, communities secretary Steve Reed said: “I think before taking any action like that, we need to understand exactly what’s happened.

“You’re asking me here about something that happened nearly 20 years ago. I don’t know the full detail of it, I wasn’t in government 20 years ago.

“I don’t know whether he declared it or not, and he should have done – the declaration rules had been brought in by then – so I think it would be for Peter Mandelson to explain whether or not that money was properly declared, and if not, then he will need to account for that.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously and they are investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”