Joe Biden’s memory lapses have been caught on tape in a leaked recording.

Audio of the former president’s interview with a prosecutor over his handling of classified documents has been released, fuelling questions about his mental decline in his final years in the White House.

In the recording, Mr Biden pauses for extended periods, meanders in his responses and struggles to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died, and the year Donald Trump was elected president.

The audio from 2023 will add to speculation that those around the former president sought to cover up his cognitive decline while he was in office.

The interview, transcripts of which were released last year, became one of the most controversial parts of the investigation by Robert Hur, the special counsel. Mr Hur concluded there was not enough evidence to charge Mr Biden with mishandling state secrets after classified documents were found in his garage.

Others prompted president with answers

In one clip obtained by Axios, Mr Biden, 82, was asked where he kept papers on matters he was “actively working” on after leaving office as vice president in 2017.

Mr Biden took a long pause before haltingly responding: “I don’t know, this is what, 2017, ’18, that area?”

He added: “Remember, in this time frame, my son was either deployed or is dying,” referring to his eldest son Beau, who died from cancer in 2015.

Mr Biden then went on to have further trouble remembering when his son died and needed confirmation from others in the room.

“What month did Beau die?” Mr Biden asked before pausing, then saying: “Oh, God, May 30.” Two people finished his sentence by providing the year: “2015.”

“Was it 2015 he had died?” Mr Biden then asked.