British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced further turmoil on Monday as his director of communications, Tim Allan, stepped down – just a day after senior aide Morgan McSweeney resigned over his involvement in supporting Peter Mandelson despite his known links to Jeffrey Epstein, Reuters reported.
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No. 10 team to be built,” Tim Allan said in a short statement.
These back-to-back resignations of key aides have intensified pressure on Starmer, who is seeking to move past the controversy surrounding his government following the decision to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
On Sunday, Morgan McSweeney also left the PM’s top team stating that he accepted “full responsibility” for having advised Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in 2024.
Earlier, while speaking to No 10 staff, Starmer expressed his gratitude to McSweeney for “his dedication, his commitment and his loyalty”, adding that the government would “go forward from here… with confidence”.
Sweeney, 48, had been one of Starmer’s closest allies and was widely credited as the strategist behind Labour’s landslide election victory.
Epstein links reignite controversy
The crisis was triggered by newly disclosed files detailing the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reopening a long-simmering issue for the Labor leadership.
The documents, which surfaced over the past ten days, allegedly suggest Mandelson leaked government material to Epstein between 2009 and 2010. The revelations have now prompted a police investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.
Pressure mounts on Starmer
Starmer has faced mounting criticism from within his own party, with Labor MPs questioning his judgment and calling for accountability over Mandelson’s appointment.
Polling already shows the prime minister struggling with voter popularity, and McSweeney’s departure has raised fresh doubts about the future direction of the government less than two years after Labor secured one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history.
