LONDON — Jeffrey Epstein had access to highly-sensitive British government policy discussions at the height of the global financial crisis, emails disclosed in the Epstein files show.

Epstein, already a convicted sex offender at the time, was forwarded on a June 2009 email written by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s senior policy adviser Nick Butler about the government’s response to the banking crunch — addressed to “Gordon.”

It appears the note was sent on by-then Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, who is facing a fresh round of scrutiny over his links to Epstein. The note — disclosed in the latest U.S. Department of Justice releases on Epstein — highlighted the U.K.’s “very substantial asset base,” and said Britain had “saleable assets in hand which are not strategic.”

The correspondence covers Whitehall thinking at the time of a major economic crisis, and it is highly unusual for such top-level discussions to be circulated outside of the British government. The exchange took place a year after Epstein, the late financier, pled guilty to solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18.

In the chain, Mandelson wrote: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM.”

Epstein replied: “What salable assets?”

The message by Butler was also sent to Brown’s key civil service aide Jeremy Heywood, his Private Secretary Christina Scott and Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office Shriti Vadera. There is no suggestion any of them were aware the exchange would be forwarded on to Epstein.

Mandelson — who was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to Washington in September after emails emerged showing he sent supportive messages to Epstein while the financier was facing charges for soliciting a minor in 2008 — did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has previously said he was wrong to have continued his association with Epstein and apologized “unequivocally” to Epstein’s victims.

A separate email, sent to Epstein in August 2009, highlighted notes from Heywood and Vadera about business investment and the Bank of England’s priorities. The identity of the person who forwarded this exchange to Epstein is redacted.

Mandelson is already facing fresh domestic pressure to exit public life.

He resigned from the Labour Party Sunday evening after documents appeared to show that Epstein made payments amounting to $75,000 to accounts linked to the Labour peer between 2003 and 2004. Mandelson said he has no record or recollection of receiving the alleged payments from Epstein and did not know if the documents were authentic.

Keir Starmer has asked his top civil servant Chris Wormald to “urgently” review all the available information regarding Mandelson’s contact with Epstein during his period as a government minister, the British prime minister’s spokesman told reporters Monday.

No. 10 Downing Street also said Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords, or use his title.