Keir Starmer will not resign and retain the full backing of his cabinet, Downing Street insisted, after two senior members of the prime minister’s inner circle stepped down in quick succession, fueling fresh speculation over his leadership.
Starmer’s spokesperson said the prime minister was “upbeat and confident” and “concentrating on the job”, after Morgan McSweeney resigned as chief of staff on Sunday and No 10 communications director Tim Allan followed today.
Asked by journalists whether the prime minister would resign later today, Starmer’s spokesperson replied: “No. The prime minister is focused on current tasks. He continues work on delivering change across the country.”
Asked whether Starmer was sure he had the cabinet’s unanimous support, the spokesperson said: “Yes.”
The twin resignations come amid mounting controversy over Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, an appointment that later unravelled as scrutiny intensified over Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein.
McSweeney has publicly taken responsibility for advising the appointment, while Starmer has said he regrets the decision, with the fallout reopening questions in Westminster about vetting and ministerial judgment.
According to the Associated Press, newly released US Epstein-related documents revived allegations about Mandelson’s past contacts and prompted renewed political pressure on Downing Street; British media reported that Mandelson was removed from the ambassador role in September 2025 and that the controversy has become a running critique of Starmer’s leadership from opponents and some uneasy voices on Labour’s benches.
Peter Mandelson is one of the most prominent Labour politicians of the past three decades. He held ministerial office in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and also served as the EU trade commissioner. A few months after Labour returned to power, Starmer appointed him ambassador to the United States.
He was recalled from the post in September last year after only seven months, when it emerged that his contacts with Epstein lasted longer than previously known. Documents published in the United States at the end of January from the investigation into Epstein further suggest that Mandelson accepted money from him and also passed on confidential government information.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of sexually abusing minors. In 2019, federal prosecutors charged him with trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. That same year, he died by suicide in custody.
The investigation found the man maintained very extensive contacts, including with politicians and showbusiness figures worldwide. Some of them were offered sexual services involving young women and girls whom he forced into prostitution.
Photo: X/@shriverist
Tomasz Modrzejewski
