LONDON

Peter Mandelson, a former British minister, will step down from the House of Lords amid ongoing pressure over his emails to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the speaker of the House said Tuesday.

The speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Forsyth, told parliamentary officials that Mandelson, who has been on a leave of absence for a while, intends to retire on Wednesday.

"My Lords, given the public interest and for the convenience of the House, I have decided to inform the House that the Clerk of the Parliaments has today received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House effective from 4 February," Forsyth told peers.

A government spokesperson said that it is right that Mandelson will no longer be a member of the House of Lords.

"As the prime minister (Keir Starmer) said this morning, Peter Mandelson let his country down."

Although Mandelson can resign from the House of Lords, his title of a life peerage cannot be relinquished, as it can only be removed by an act of parliament, according to the BBC.

Government refers material to police

Earlier on Tuesday, the British government referred material to the police after an initial review of the former minister's emails to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice … found that they contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy," Starmer's Office said in the statement.

It came after the Metropolitan Police announced Monday that it would review reports of alleged misconduct in public office after the latest release of files by the US Justice Department on Epstein suggested Mandelson leaked government information to the late financier.

"Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information and (there were) strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially," said the statement.

"It appears these safeguards were compromised. In light of this information, the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police."

Emails, released Friday in the US, revealed that Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Epstein while serving as business secretary in 2009.

Mandelson's ties 'betrayal'

Starmer also called the allegations "disgraceful," with his office saying officials are drafting legislation that would allow Mandelson's peerage to be removed "as quickly as possible."

Separately, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC on Tuesday that Mandelson's ties to Epstein are a "betrayal" of the victims.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party is reportedly planning to force a vote on Wednesday in the House of Commons on the government publishing more information related to Mandelson.

Starmer said Monday that Mandelson should not remain a member of the House of Lords due to his links to Epstein.

The latest release of files prompted Mandelson to resign on Sunday from the Labour Party.

Since his resignation from the party, Mandelson has faced mounting pressure from politicians to quit the House of Lords.

"I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furor surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this," Mandelson said in a letter on Monday.

The US Justice Department recently released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by US President Donald Trump in November.

The materials include photographs, grand jury transcripts, and investigative records, though many pages remain heavily redacted.

Epstein was found dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.