English transcript

Former British government minister Peter Mandelson

resigned Sunday as a member of Prime Minister

Keir Starmer's Labour Party. That is after new

reports surfaced linking him with disgraced

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein. According to

reports by the BBC and other news organizations,

Mandelson said in a letter that he did not wish

to cause, quote, "further embarrassment" to

Labour. He said allegations about financial

payments to him by Epstein were false, and he

would investigate them. Starmer fired Mandelson

as Britain's ambassador to the United States

last year. He came under scrutiny after U.S.

lawmakers released documents, including a letter

in which he called Epstein his, quote, "best

pal". Mandelson was a key figure in the Labour

Party's electoral success when Tony Blair was

Prime Minister, starting in the 1990s. But he

was twice forced to quit as minister over allegations

of misconduct. He later served for a time as

European Union Trade Commissioner.