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The chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has resigned following controversy surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.
Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, announced his resignation on Sunday, saying the decision to appoint Mandelson was a mistake.
McSweeney took responsibility for his advice to the prime minister to make the appointment, he said in a statement.
“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself,” McSweeney said.
“When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment, and I take full responsibility for that advice.
“In public life, responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.
“This has not been an easy decision. Much has been written and said about me over the years, but my motivations have always been simple: I have worked every day to elect and support a government that puts the lives of ordinary people first and leads us to a better future for our great country.”
The resignation came as the Foreign Office confirmed it was reviewing an exit payment made to Mandelson, who was dismissed from the role last September.
Mandelson, a senior Labour figure and former European Union trade commissioner, is reported to have received a severance payment estimated at between £38,750 and £55,000 after seven months in office.
The controversy follows the US Justice Department’s release on January 30 of documents purporting to show that Mandelson may have given the late financier Jeffrey Epstein access to confidential UK government information while he was a minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, with US authorities ruling his death a suicide.
