Starmer's Chief of Staff Resigns Over Mandelson Appointment Amid Epstein Scandal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned on Sunday after taking responsibility for advising the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, a decision that has become the most damaging scandal of Starmer's premiership following revelations about Mandelson's relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

"After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," McSweeney said in a statement . "I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment, and I take full responsibility for that advice" U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

McSweeney, 48, had served as Starmer's chief of staff since October 2024 and was widely credited as the architect of Labour's landslide election victory . He was also a protege and friend of Mandelson British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex.... Labour members of parliament had called for his resignation after accusing him of failing to ensure proper background checks on Mandelson before the appointment British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex....

The crisis was triggered by documents released on January 30 by the US Department of Justice, which appeared to show that Mandelson had allegedly leaked confidential UK government information to the financier Epstein while serving as a British minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis . The revelation prompted a police investigation into Mandelson, 72, for alleged misconduct in a public office U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

Mandelson, a pivotal figure in British politics and the Labour Party for decades, was sacked by Starmer in September over his friendship with Epstein after serving just seven months as ambassador . He has since quit the Labour Party and resigned from the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the UK Parliament British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex.... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it has launched a review into a severance payment Mandelson received after being fired, estimated at between £38,750 and £55,000 ($52,000 to $74,000) according to the Sunday Times, citing "further information that has now been revealed and the ongoing police investigation" U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

Through his lawyers at Mishcon de Reya, Mandelson said he "regrets, and will regret until his dying day, that he believed Epstein's lies about his criminality" . The statement added that Mandelson "did not discover the truth about Epstein until after his death in 2019" and was "profoundly sorry that powerless and vulnerable women and girls were not given the protection they deserved" U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while facing charges of alleged sex trafficking; US officials ruled his death a suicide British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex....

The fallout has exposed deep fractures within the Labour government. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden, a close Starmer ally, acknowledged the appointment was "a terrible mistake" but insisted the party should stick with the prime minister, telling BBC television that the blame lay "squarely with Peter Mandelson" for putting himself forward for the job despite knowing the extent of his relationship with Epstein U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

More troubling for Starmer, his deputy David Lammy has become the first cabinet minister to appear to distance himself from the prime minister British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex.... Friends of Lammy told the Sunday Telegraph that the deputy prime minister had not been in favour of appointing Mandelson due to his known Epstein links U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified. The split is significant — Lammy's willingness to put daylight between himself and Starmer suggests the crisis has shaken confidence in the prime minister's judgment at the highest levels of government.

The Mandelson affair is the latest in a series of Epstein-related political shockwaves. France's former culture minister Jack Lang also offered to resign from his role heading the Arab World Institute over his own links to the late financier, as the DOJ document releases continued to implicate prominent figures across multiple countries U.K. Prime Minister Starmer’s Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein Falloutsj.com·Unverified.

The scandal has compounded what was already a difficult period for Starmer's government. Despite winning one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history less than two years ago, Labour has been trailing Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK by double-digit figures in the polls for the past year, with the government under fire over immigration, economic growth, and the cost of living crisis British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex.... The departure of McSweeney, who had been central to Labour's political strategy, has thrown the future direction of the government into doubt British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex....

It remains to be seen whether McSweeney's exit will be enough to silence Starmer's growing number of critics, both inside and outside the party. The prime minister paid tribute to his departing aide, saying it had been "an honour" to work with McSweeney and that "our party and I owe him a debt of gratitude" British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex.... He added that it was "largely thanks to his dedication, loyalty and leadership that we won a landslide majority" in the 2024 election British PM Keir Starmer's top aide quits in scandal over Mandelson links to Epsteinfrance24.com·SecondaryTo display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Issued on: 08/02/2026 - 17:16Modified: 08/02/2026 - 17:27 Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned on Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite links to US convicted sex....