Lord Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” after documents in newly released files appeared to show he received $75,000 from Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest batch of files released by the US Department of Justice includes three apparent bank statements detailing three money transfers of $25,000 each from the paedophile financier to the former British ambassador to Washington in 2003 and 2004.
It is unclear whether the payments ever made it into any named accounts.
Lord Mandelson, who was the Labour MP for Hartlepool when the files suggest the payments were alleged to have been made, resigned his membership of the party on Sunday night.
The peer, who has denied any record or recollection of the payments and questioned their authenticity, said in a statement he wanted “to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now”.
The New Labour grandee, who was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States over his links to Epstein, appeared in a picture found in the files wearing only his underwear.
He said he felt “regretful and sorry” about weekend revelations linking him to “the understandable furore surrounding” Epstein, who took his own life in prison in 2019.
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Sky News has found video of Epstein being questioned about his crimes and whether his money was “dirty”.
Epstein, wearing glasses and a black shirt, appears to be answering questions in a sit-down interview.
At one point, the interviewer asks Epstein if his money is “dirty money”, to which the paedophile financier replies: “No, it’s not.”
Asked why not, Epstein says: “Because I earned it.”
Put to him that his wealth was earned by “advising the worst people in the world that do enormous bad things”, Epstein says that “ethics is always a complicated subject”.
Epstein then claims he donated money to help try to eradicate polio in Pakistan and India.
“What are you, [a] class 3 sexual predator?” the interviewer asks.
“Tier 1. I’m the lowest,” Epstein responds.
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The interviewer asks if those receiving Epstein’s donations knew where the money came from, leading to the following exchange:
Epstein: I think if you told them the devil himself said ‘I’m going to exchange some dollars for your child’s life’…
Interviewer: Do you think you’re the devil himself?
Epstein: No, but I do have a good mirror.
Interviewer: It’s a serious question. Do you think you’re the devil himself?
Epstein: I don’t know. Why would you say that?
Interviewer: Because you have all the attributes –
Epstein: No, the devil scares me.
The person interviewing Epstein doesn’t appear on screen, but he is believed to be Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Mr Bannon served in the White House role for the first seven months of Trump’s first presidential term.
It is unclear when or where the interview was filmed, who filmed the footage or why Bannon in particular was speaking to Epstein.
The footage was among more than 2,000 videos released on Friday by the US Department of Justice, along with more than three million pages and 180,000 images.
Read more:
Epstein files: Key findings so far
It is clear Epstein was welcomed into Andrew’s family fold
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Pressure is growing on both Lord Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to appear before the US Congress over their links to Epstein.
The latest tranche of Epstein files include three images appearing to show Andrew on all fours over a woman lying on the floor, with the date and circumstances unspecified.
Andrew has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing relating to his relationship with Epstein.
The former Duke of York has lost all his titles and associated royal roles due to his links to Epstein.
