Mandelson asked to testify to US Congress over Epstein links
Former Labour cabinet minister was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his ties to Epstein
Peter Mandelson has been asked to testify to the US Congress over his relationship with the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter, US politicians told the ex-Labour grandee they thought he had “critical information” that would assist their investigation into Epstein.
Two members of the House of Representatives, Suhas Subramanyam and Robert Garcia, have written to Mandelson asking him to answer questions from the House’s oversight committee.
They wrote: “While you no longer serve as British ambassador to the United States and have stepped down from the House of Lords, it is clear that you possessed extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein and hold critical information pertaining to our investigation of Epstein’s operations.
“Given the appalling allegations regarding Epstein’s conduct, we request that you make yourself available for a transcribed interview with committee staff regarding the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
Mandelson has been given until the end of the month to respond.
He has previously said he was “wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologise unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered.”
Last week, Sir Keir Starmer said he was sorry for believing Mandelson’s “lies” and for appointing him to the role of Britain’s ambassador to the US.
Following a barrage of criticism from his own MPs, the prime minister also issued a frank apology to the victims of Epstein.
He also admitted that he knew Mandelson had had contact with Epstein before giving him the job, but said: “None of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship.”
Mandelson is also being investigated by the Metropolitan Police after the government handed over a dossier of extraordinary emails that suggested the former Labour peer had leaked sensitive government information to Epstein.
Officials are also thought to be reviewing 25 years of records to find evidence linking Mandelson to Epstein. Civil servants are examining correspondence that dates back to his time as Northern Ireland secretary under Tony Blair between 1999 and 2002, as well as when he was business secretary under Gordon Brown nearly a decade later.
Mandelson was sacked in September when details about his relationship with Epstein emerged.
But the most recent release of documents, which indicate that he shared market-sensitive information with the financier in 2009 during the global financial crash sent shockwaves through Westminster.
The files also suggest that a year later, he tipped Epstein off about an imminent €500bn deal to prop up the European single currency. Payments reportedly totalling $75,000 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner, Reinaldo Avia da Silva, are also revealed.
Since the scandal erupted, the prime minister has lost his chief of staff, his top civil servant and his director of communications. On Monday, Sir Keir himself also faced calls to resign from the leader of Scottish Labour, as the party tries to move on from the crisis.
A representative for Mandelson has been approached for comment.
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