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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is confronting the gravest political crisis of his premiership after a wave of senior resignations and mounting anger within Parliament over his government’s connection to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The turmoil follows revelations surrounding the appointment of veteran Labour figure Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, despite evidence that he maintained contact with Epstein after the latter’s 2008 conviction. Opposition figures argue that Starmer was aware of these links before confirming the appointment.
In a double blow to Downing Street, Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned after reportedly advising the prime minister to proceed with Mandelson’s nomination. Within 24 hours, communications chief Tim Allan also stepped down, saying he wanted “to allow a new No.10 team to be built.”
The departures have deepened perceptions of instability within the prime minister’s inner circle, which has already seen multiple communications reshuffles in just 19 months. Staff exits, policy reversals, and strategic missteps have increasingly defined an administration whose popularity has slipped steadily in national polls.
Starmer was due to address Labour MPs in a tense closed-door meeting, with backbench dissent becoming more vocal. Several MPs from the party’s left flank have openly questioned whether he should remain leader. Others, however, have urged caution.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was less forgiving, telling BBC Radio: “Advisers advise, leaders decide. He made a bad decision, he should take responsibility for that,” and described Starmer’s position as “untenable.”
The controversy reignited after documents released by the US government on January 30 appeared to show Mandelson sharing confidential UK government information with Epstein while serving as a minister during the 2008 financial crisis. Police have since opened a misconduct investigation and raided two of Mandelson’s properties. He has not been arrested.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer and chief prosecutor, has apologised to Epstein’s victims and accused Mandelson of misleading officials during the vetting process. The government is preparing to release tens of thousands of emails and internal documents related to the appointment, a move that could intensify political pressure.
With local elections looming in May and a critical by-election scheduled for February 28, Labour’s slump in opinion polls—now trailing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK by double digits—has left many MPs uneasy.
For Starmer, the challenge is no longer only about political optics but about restoring authority inside his party and credibility with the public as his leadership faces its most severe test yet.
