UK Prime Minister's Top Aide Resigns Amid Epstein-Linked Diplomatic Scandal
In a dramatic development that has plunged the British government into turmoil, Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned on February 8th. His departure comes amid an escalating political crisis surrounding the controversial appointment of Labour veteran Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States, despite his documented connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
McSweeney Takes Responsibility for Fateful Advice
Morgan McSweeney stepped down, accepting full responsibility for advising Prime Minister Starmer to appoint the 72-year-old Peter Mandelson to Britain's most crucial diplomatic post in 2024. This resignation follows the release of a new set of files that shed further light on Mandelson's relationship with Epstein, revealing that the former business secretary allegedly sent market-sensitive information to the financier during the 2008 financial crisis.
The scandal has erupted at a particularly vulnerable moment for Prime Minister Starmer. The UK media is describing this as the gravest crisis of his 18-month tenure, with intense scrutiny focused squarely on his judgment and decision-making capabilities.
Starmer's Leadership Under Fire as Crisis Deepens
McSweeney's resignation has placed Keir Starmer directly in the political firing line. With opinion polls showing the Prime Minister's popularity plummeting after a series of policy reversals, members of his own Labour Party are now openly questioning his future. The damaging publication of exchanges between Epstein and Mandelson has led many Labour MPs to blame McSweeney for the ill-fated appointment.
One anonymous Labour lawmaker told Reuters that McSweeney's resignation had arrived too late to stem the damage, stating ominously: "It buys the PM time, but it's still the end of days." This crisis is particularly striking given that it comes less than two years after the Labour Party secured one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history.
Apologies and Aftermath of a Damaging Appointment
Prime Minister Starmer issued a public apology last week, stating he had "believed Mandelson's lies" and that "none of us knew the depth of the darkness" of the relationship between Mandelson and Epstein during the vetting process for the diplomatic position. Starmer had already dismissed Mandelson from the US ambassador role in September 2024 over the Epstein connections.
In his resignation statement, McSweeney acknowledged the severity of the error: "The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself. When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice."
The Strategic Brain Behind Starmer's Rise Exits
The departure of the 48-year-old McSweeney represents a significant strategic blow to Prime Minister Starmer. Widely regarded as the architect of Starmer's rise to power and Labour's political comeback, McSweeney had served as chief of staff since October 2024. His political acumen was forged during the 2001 election and subsequent local government work, and he played a pivotal role in persuading pro-Corbyn party members to support Starmer's leadership bid.
According to BBC reports, during Jeremy Corbyn's leadership from 2015-2020, McSweeney conducted extensive polling that identified Starmer as the best candidate to regain control of the party from the left. With McSweeney's exit, Starmer has lost his most trusted political adviser and master campaign strategist at a time when he faces increasing isolation and political peril.
Mounting Criticism and Calls for Starmer's Resignation
Critics cited by the Associated Press argue that the emails published by the US Justice Department raise serious questions about Starmer's judgment, suggesting he should have known better than to appoint Mandelson initially. The documents also include records of payments totaling $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
Opposition voices have grown increasingly vocal, with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch stating: "Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions," calling McSweeney's resignation "overdue." Nigel Farage, head of the populist Reform UK party that currently leads in polls, suggested Starmer's time as Prime Minister might soon be up.
Within his own party, several Labour lawmakers have called for Starmer's resignation. The Prime Minister spent the previous week defending McSweeney, a strategy that may now prompt further questions about his judgment. In a Sunday statement following the resignation, Starmer described working with McSweeney as "an honour," even as he appointed deputy chiefs of staff Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson to serve as joint acting chiefs of staff during this period of unprecedented political crisis.
