LONDON

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson should not remain a member of the House of Lords due to his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer believes Mandelson “should not be a member of the Lords,” a government spokesperson said in a statement, adding that removing him through legislation would be complex.

The statement noted that Starmer has also asked the Cabinet Secretary to “urgently” review all available information regarding contact between Mandelson and Epstein.

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

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

In a letter to Labour Party General Secretary Hollie Ridley, Lord Mandelson said he did not want to “cause further embarrassment” due to his links to Epstein, according to the BBC.

In September last year, Starmer dismissed Mandelson from his role as ambassador to the US over the Epstein links, after documents suggested that Epstein made three separate payments of $25,000 each, totaling $75,000, to accounts linked to Mandelson in 2003 and 2004.

In his letter on Monday, Mandelson said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furor surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”

“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,” he added.

The development comes amid mounting pressure from UK politicians calling for Mandelson’s removal from the House of Lords, where he is currently “on leave of absence.”