A senior cabinet minister has said Lord Mandelson has a “moral obligation” to cooperate with any investigation into the late financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The comments, made by housing secretary Steve Reed, add to mounting pressure on the former Labour peer, who lost his role as the UK’s ambassador to Washington last September following revelations about his association with Epstein.
Reed’s intervention follows the release of new documents showing Epstein transferred thousands of pounds after Lord Mandelson’s husband requested help paying for osteopathy course fees.
Cabinet minister urges cooperation for the sake of Epstein victims
Appearing on Sky News on Sunday, Reed said the focus must remain firmly on those harmed by Epstein’s crimes.
He told viewers: “Foremost in all of our thoughts should be the victims of these horrific crimes. If anybody has information or evidence that they can share that might help to understand what’s gone on and bring justice to those victims, then they should share it.
“Whether that is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whether it’s Lord Mandelson or whether it’s anybody else, they have a moral obligation to share what they knew so that the victims can help find the justice that they have been denied for so long.”
Reed was pressed further by Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips, who asked whether Lord Mandelson should feel morally compelled to come forward if his evidence could help establish the truth.
In response, the minister said: “Well absolutely. The victims of any crime, leave alone crimes as horrendous as these, should do whatever they can to help the victims.”
Newly released documents add scrutiny to Mandelson’s past links
The latest tranche of Epstein-related documents includes undated photographs of Lord Mandelson wearing a T-shirt and underwear in what appears to be a hotel room.
Bank records released alongside the images also show Epstein transferred $50,000 to Mandelson in two separate payments of $25,000 on June 24 and June 30, 2004.
Earlier this year, Lord Mandelson issued a public apology to Epstein’s victims, having initially stopped short of doing so.
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In a statement released in January, he said: “I 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.
“I was never culpable or complicit in his crimes. Like everyone else, I learned the actual truth about him after his death. But his victims did know what he was doing; their voices were not heard, and I am sorry I was amongst those who believed him over them.”
Separately, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor “should be prepared” to give evidence before the US Congress regarding his own links to Epstein.
