Epstein files latest: Elon Musk claims 'no one fought harder' for release of files - as Mandelson quits Labour

It's the issue that's dogged Donald Trump's second presidency. 

Paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019, shortly after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.

Rumours have long circulated about his death, and there has also been speculation about who may have visited his private island.

Some of those rumours quickly spiralled into conspiracy theories.

And at the heart of it all are these Epstein files.

What are they?

In short, these are millions of pages of documents that the US Department of Justice holds on the investigation into the sex offender.

He was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges when he was found dead in his cell aged 66.

The indictment alleged he sought out minors - some as young as 14 - from at least 2002 to 2005.

He was accused of paying them hundreds of dollars in cash for sexual acts at either his New York City townhouse or his estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

He was under investigation in Florida over allegations he preyed on a number of young victims in the mid-2000s.

Ultimately, he cut a deal to plead guilty to state charges involving just one minor. 

The justice department said last year he had 1,000 victims.

Haven't we seen files already?

Before this latest release, tens of thousands of pages of "Epstein files" have become public over the past 20 years, many originating from victims' lawsuits against Epstein and previous criminal investigations.

But the releases we've seen over the past month and a half or so have been the biggest yet, with millions of files published.

This culminated in what the US Department of Justice said was more than three million documents being released on Friday.

It had fallen short, however, of what a bipartisan law in Congress demanded - the full release of the files at once.

Sir Keir Starmer "categorically" did not have all information on Lord Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein when he appointed him as US ambassador in December 2024, a minister has told Mornings With Frost and Ridge.

Education minister Olivia Bailey said: "As soon as the information did become clear, rightly, the prime minister took swift action to remove Peter Mandelson as US ambassador."

Starmer sacked Lord Mandelson in September when further information about his links to Epstein were revealed. 

Pushed by Sophy Ridge that Starmer knew enough about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein when he was appointed as ambassador, Bailey said the government "did not know about the extent and nature" of the relationship.

Asked whether Mandelson should testify in the US, she said: "Anybody with any information that could help secure justice for the victims should think very, very hard about that, should do that because the victims and their experiences must be our first priority."

One of the most high-profile names that appears in the Epstein files is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Three images from the latest tranche of documents appear to show him on all fours over a woman lying on the floor.

In two of the pictures, he appears to be touching the woman's stomach, while the other shows him looking straight at the camera.

The photos appear without explanation, date, or further context. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Epstein was promised 'lots of privacy' at Buckingham Palace

Emails suggest Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace in September 2010 and promised "lots of privacy".

After Epstein requested "private time", Mountbatten-Windsor told him "alternatively we should have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy".

In a statement issued on 17 October 2025, Mountbatten-Windsor said he "vigorously" denied the accusations against him.

In an email exchange in August 2010, Epstein told Mountbatten-Windsor he had "a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with" and disclosed the dates she would be in London.

Epstein said she was 26, Russian, "beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email".

Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated his call for Mountbatten-Windsor to testify to US Congress over his dealings with Epstein...

Correspondent Paul Kelso runs through the key documents that have emerged from the Epstein files in this explainer video.

Newly released footage shows Jeffrey Epstein facing questions in a sit-down interview. He discusses being a sex offender and is asked by the interviewer: "Do you think you're the devil himself?"

And apparent bank statements indicate the convicted sex offender paid Lord Mandelson $75,000 between 2003 and 2004.

Elon Musk has spoken out after he appeared in the latest batch of the Epstein files.

Emails showed Musk discussing his Tesla business with the disgraced financier in 2013.

A year earlier, Musk asked Epstein "what day/night will be the wildest party on your island?"

In a post on social media, Musk claimed "nobody has fought harder for full release of the Epstein files and prosecutions of those who abused children more than I did".

Musk said he knew "full well that the legacy media, far-left propagandists and those who are actually guilty would:

1. Admit nothing 
2. Deny everything
3. Make counter-accusations against me"

He added: "I knew that I would be smeared relentlessly, despite never having attended his parties or been on his 'Lolita Express' plane or set foot on his creepy island or done anything wrong at all. 

"Nonetheless, the extreme pain of being accused of being the opposite of who I am was worth it. The strong must protect those cannot protect themselves, especially vulnerable children. 

"I will gladly accept any amount of future pain to do more to protect kids and give them a chance to grow up and have happy lives."

By Jon Craig, chief political correspondent

In the end, it was a scandal too far, even for Mandelson.

The latest explosive Epstein revelations have forced him to resign from his beloved Labour Party, he says, to save the party from "further embarrassment".

It's difficult to imagine what could be more embarrassing than this weekend's disclosure of alleged payments by Jeffrey Epstein to his partner, claims of lobbying a Labour chancellor on tax policy, and being photographed wearing nothing more than a T-shirt and a pair of underpants.

Announcing his resignation from the party last night, he challenged some of the allegations in the Epstein files and repeated his claim that he had no record or recollection of the payments to his now husband.

He said he had written to Hollie Ridley, general secretary of the Labour Party, to say he was stepping down from his party membership.

But did he jump or was he pushed? Even if Sir Keir Starmer didn't demand his resignation, such an astute political operator as Lord Mandelson could see he couldn't remain in the party, and he had no alternative but to resign.

In his resignation letter, he wrote: "I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore 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."

Lord Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party to avoid causing it "further embarrassment" after documents in newly released files appeared to show he received $75,000 from Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest batch of files released by the US Department of Justice includes three apparent bank statements detailing three money transfers of $25,000 each from the paedophile financier to the former British ambassador to Washington in 2003 and 2004.

It is unclear whether the payments ever made it into any named accounts.

Lord Mandelson, who was the Labour MP for Hartlepool when the files suggest the payments were alleged to have been made, resigned his membership of the party last night.

The peer, who has denied any record or recollection of the payments and questioned their authenticity, said in a statement he wanted "to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now".

The New Labour grandee, who was sacked as the UK's ambassador to the United States over his links to Epstein, appeared in a picture found in the files wearing only his underwear...

He said he felt "regretful and sorry" about weekend revelations linking him to "the understandable furore surrounding" Epstein, who took his own life in prison in 2019.

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage as we bring you more from the Epstein files.

Our team is combing through the millions of files that were released by the US justice department on Friday, and we'll bring you new lines as we get them.

Lord Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour Party.

The peer says he does not wish to "cause further embarrassment" over his links to the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier, it emerged that documents appeared to show that Mandelson, the former British ambassador to Washington, was paid $75,000 by Epstein (see post at 16.20).

Mandelson said he had "no record and no recollection of ever receiving these sums".

In a statement, he said he had written this evening to the general secretary of the Labour Party, Hollie Ridley.

His letter said: "I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore 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.

"I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.

"I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labour Party and in taking my decision, I believe I am acting in its best interests."

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously and they are investigated in line with our rules and procedures."

The name of former US senator George Mitchell, who chaired the negotiations that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland, has been removed from a scholarship programme because of his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The US-Ireland Alliance said the George J Mitchell Scholarship Programme would no longer bear his name. 

It said its board of directors had unanimously agreed to drop Mitchell's name "due to new information that has come to light as part of the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein by the (US) Department of Justice on Friday".

Michell chaired the discussions that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

The scholarship programme sends US postgraduate students to Irish universities and was set up to honour Mitchell for his work in Northern Ireland.

Trina Vargo, president of the alliance, said: "We are extremely proud of the programme and the scholars, and this turn of events in no way diminishes their achievements or our commitment to keeping them connected to the island, the alliance, and each other."

Mitchell has previously said he regrets having met and known Epstein and said he had no knowledge of any of his illegal actions. 

Being mentioned in the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing.