Starmer’s chief of staff resigns over Epstein scandal

Morgan McSweeney says he regrets pushing for the appointment of the sex offender’s friend to a diplomatic position

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, has resigned over the fallout from newly published files related to disgraced US financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

McSweeney took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US, despite Mandelson’s ties to Epstein. Mandelson was dismissed from the diplomatic post in September. After a new batch of Epstein-related documents was released last month, he also resigned from the House of Lords.

In a statement on Sunday, McSweeney, who is credited with strategizing Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election, said he regretted backing Mandelson.

“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country, and trust in politics itself,” McSweeney said.

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“When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice,” he added.

Starmer thanked McSweeney for his work, saying that “our party and I owe him a debt of gratitude,” without referring to Mandelson. The prime minister had previously apologized to Epstein’s victims over Mandelson’s appointment.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch urged Starmer to take responsibility for his own decisions. Reform UK accused the government of creating further “chaos,” while the Scottish National Party called on the prime minister to step down.

“Starmer’s ship is being quickly deserted, soon to be followed by Britain’s most unpopular prime minister in history and warmonger Keir Starmer himself,” Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote on X.

The US Department of Justice published a large trove of documents from the Epstein Estate on January 30, in line with the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act.