Mandelson expected to be ordered to give evidence in US about Epstein ties

Lord Peter Mandelson is expected to be summoned to give evidence about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before US Congress, after fresh claims over his links to the late paedophile emerged.

The peer, who resigned from the Labour Party to avoid causing “further embarrassment” on Sunday, featured in the more than three million documents from the so-called Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

US officials are now reportedly drawing up a summons demanding Lord Mandelson appears in Washington to testify about Epstein, the Telegraph reported.

Sources close to the US House oversight committee told the paper they believe the former US ambassador has crucial information about co-conspirators and enablers of his crimes.

Lord Mandelson, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to Epstein, faced fresh claims over his links to the disgraced financier over the weekend.

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Bank statements from 2003 and 2004 in documents appeared to show Lord Mandelson received payments totalling 75,000 US dollars from the financier.

Speaking over the weekend, Lord Mandelson had said he had no recollection of receiving the alleged payments from Epstein, and said he did not know if the documents were genuine.

From the documents, it is unclear if the payments made it to any named accounts.

The newly released files also suggested the convicted sex offender sent £10,000 to Lord Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, in 2009 after he asked Epstein for money to fund an osteopathy course and other related expenses.

Another file showed a man who appears to be Lord Mandelson in a series of undated photographs, standing in his underwear and a T-shirt alongside a woman whose face has been obscured.

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The peer told the BBC he “cannot place the location or the woman, and I cannot think what the circumstances were”.

Lord Mandelson on Sunday said he had written to Hollie Ridley, general secretary of the Labour Party to say he was resigning his party membership.

In his letter, he said: “Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.

“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.”

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Education minister Olivia Bailey told Times Radio she was “pleased” Lord Mandelson had resigned from the Labour Party.

“There were clearly questions that Peter Mandelson would need to answer. He’s taken this decision, it’s the right decision,” she said.

Last year he was sacked from his role as UK ambassador to the US following mounting pressure over his ties to Epstein, who served an 18-month prison sentence from 2008 until July 2009 after pleading guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution.

In his letter, he added that he wanted to “repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now”.

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Last month, he apologised to Epstein’s victims for remaining friends with the financier after his conviction. He had said it was “misplaced loyalty” and “a most terrible mistake on my part”.

Lord Mandelson also suggested Epstein excluded him from the “sexual side” of his life because he was gay.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir has called for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be prepared to testify before the US Congress after pictures, which appear to show him crouched over an unidentified woman, were also featured in the latest document release.

Andrew has been accused of “hiding” from US officials on the House Oversight Committee, which in November asked him to sit for a transcribed interview regarding his connections to Epstein.

The former prince has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.