Lord Mandelson says he doesn’t remember Epstein sending him $75k

Photos in the Epstein files also appear to show the Labour peer in his underwear, talking to a woman

Lord Peter Mandelson says he does not remember receiving payments from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, totalling $75,000.

Lord Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador in 2025 because of his links to the paedophile financier.

He appeared to feature in several bank statements released on Friday by the US Department of Justice as part of a huge tranche of files related to Epstein.

One bank statement showed a payment of $25,000 made to the account of Reinaldo Avila da Silva, who was at the time Lord Mandelson’s partner and is now his husband.

The statement appears to describe “Peter Mandelson” as the beneficiary of the payment, as the allocation “BEN” appears next to his name.

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

Peter Mandelson features in his underwear in a photograph released from the Epstein files (US Department of Justice)

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

Lord Mandelson told the BBC he had no recollection of receiving the payments, and did not know if the documents were genuine.

Other disclosures from the latest Epstein files show a man who appears to be Lord Mandelson in a series of undated photographs, standing in his pants and a T-shirt alongside a woman whose face has been obscured.

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

Elsewhere, the files appeared to show that Mr da Silva was transferred thousands of pounds by Epstein to pay a fee so that he could attend the British School of Osteopathy.

Lord Mandelson has previously offered an unequivocal apology to Epstein’s victims.

He has also insisted he had “nothing more to add” on his links to the late paedophile.

Being pictured or mentioned in the Epstein files is not an indicator of any wrongdoing.

Communities secretary Steve Reed was asked by Sky News on Sunday if Lord Mandelson should be stripped of his peerage because of his association with Epstein.

He replied: “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.”