Starmer under pressure after chief of staff quits over Mandelson appointment

Keir Starmer’s authority at the top of government came under renewed scrutiny on Sunday after the Mandelson appointment fallout claimed its first senior casualty, with the prime minister’s chief of staff resigning amid growing unease inside the Labour Party.

Morgan McSweeney, one of Starmer’s closest advisers, stepped down after criticism over the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States intensified following the release of new documents detailing Mandelson’s past relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government,”

McSweeney 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 added that he had personally advised the prime minister to make the appointment and accepted full responsibility for that advice.

Pressure on McSweeney had been building since a tranche of files and photographs released by US authorities shed further light on the nature of Mandelson’s exchanges with Epstein. Labour MPs said the disclosures had left the government exposed and raised serious questions about vetting at the highest level of public office.

Several backbenchers argued that responsibility lay not only with Mandelson but with those who had cleared his return to public life. One MP described the episode as “a failure of judgement that now risks defining the government’s early months”.

McSweeney, 48, a long-standing ally and former protégé of Mandelson, was accused by critics of failing to ensure that proper background checks had been carried out before the ambassadorial appointment was confirmed.

In a brief statement, Starmer paid tribute to his departing aide, saying it had been “an honour” to work with McSweeney, who had served as chief of staff since October 2024. Downing Street declined to say whether any changes would be made to the government’s appointments process.

Mandelson’s exit and severance review

Mandelson, a dominant figure in Labour politics for more than three decades, was dismissed from his ambassadorial post in September after questions about his friendship with Epstein resurfaced. He resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords last week.

The Foreign Office has since confirmed that it is reviewing an exit payment made to Mandelson following his departure. Reports suggest the severance package amounted to between £38,750 and £55,000 after just seven months in the role.

The review is being conducted by officials within the department responsible for Britain’s diplomatic service, whose remit includes oversight of senior appointments and conduct, as set out by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Documents released by the US Department of Justice on January 30 appeared to indicate that Mandelson may have shared confidential government information with Epstein during his time as a cabinet minister, including material dating back to the 2008 financial crisis. The Foreign Office said the severance review was under way “in light of further information that has now been revealed and the ongoing police investigation”.

Mandelson’s legal representatives said he had been misled about Epstein’s activities and remained deeply remorseful. “Lord Mandelson regrets, and will regret until his dying day, that he believed Epstein’s lies about his criminality,” a spokesperson said. “He did not discover the truth until after Epstein’s death in 2019.”

Growing unease within Labour

McSweeney’s resignation has sharpened questions about Starmer’s judgement at a time when the government is already facing scepticism from voters. Polling suggests Labour’s support has softened since the election, and senior figures privately acknowledge that the Mandelson episode has cut through beyond Westminster.

Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said earlier that the prime minister should remain in office but conceded the appointment had been a serious error. “He should accept that this has been a terrible story and that the appointment was a terrible mistake,” McFadden told broadcasters, placing responsibility “squarely with Peter Mandelson”.

Others have been less forgiving. According to reports, David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, had privately opposed Mandelson’s appointment from the outset, citing concerns about reputational risk. Allies of Lammy said he had warned that Mandelson’s past associations could overshadow the government’s diplomatic priorities.

Whether McSweeney’s departure will be enough to contain the political damage remains unclear. For now, the Mandelson appointment fallout has become an early test of Starmer’s promise to restore trust and seriousness to public life.

For more independent coverage of London’s political developments and government appointments, follow EyeOnLondon. We’d love to hear your views in the comments.

[Image Credit | Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters]

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