{"id":114591,"date":"2026-02-08T22:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114591"},"modified":"2026-02-08T22:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:20:00","slug":"pms-chief-aide-mcsweeney-quits-over-mandelson-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114591","title":{"rendered":"PM\u2019s chief aide McSweeney quits over Mandelson row"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>4 Minute, 55 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

Morgan McSweeney has resigned as Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s chief of staff after mounting scrutiny of his role in Lord Mandelson\u2019s appointment as the UK\u2019s ambassador to the US.<\/p>\n

The PM\u2019s adviser had been coming under pressure after pushing for the former minister to be given the job, despite the peer\u2019s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein being publicly known at the time.<\/p>\n

McSweeney said he did not oversee the vetting but wanted to take \u201cfull responsibility\u201d for advising the prime minister to appoint him.<\/p>\n

It leaves Sir Keir battling to shore up his premiership as he continues to face anger from Labour MPs over his decision to hire the peer for the Washington role.Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson in September, after emails emerged showing he sent supportive messages to Epstein as he faced charges for sex offences.<\/p>\n

But further revelations this week from the latest release of Epstein files in the US about his continued contact with the late disgraced financier after his conviction in 2008 have led to fresh fury within Labour over the decision to hand him the role.<\/p>\n

Emails suggesting the peer leaked sensitive government information to Epstein whilst a minister in the last Labour government have also prompted a police investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir has said Lord Mandelson\u2019s prior relationship was Epstein was flagged when he was vetted for the role, whilst insisting the former cabinet minister misled him about the depth of the relationship.<\/p>\n

But it has failed to contain the row over the decision, with a handful of Labour MPs now openly calling for Sir Keir to resign as party leader.<\/p>\n

York Central MP Rachael Maskell told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Westminster Hour that the prime minister has a \u201cvery tight timetable\u2026 to prove that he has got it in him to lead us forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman called on Sir Keir to \u201clook at his own position\u201d and question whether he should \u201cresign for the good of the country and the Labour Party\u201d.<\/p>\n

But others have thrown their support behind him.<\/p>\n

Karl Turner, Kingston upon Hull East MP, told BBC Radio 5 Live Sir Keir knew it was \u201ca catastrophic mistake\u201d to appoint Lord Mandelson and \u201che wants to make good\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rugby\u2019s MP John Slinger called for his party to \u201crally behind the prime minister\u201d, adding: \u201cWe don\u2019t ditch a leader just because the going gets tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sir Keir will address Labour MPs in private on Monday evening, at the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, as he seeks to convince his backbenchers he can regain control.<\/p>\n

It was earlier suggested that he might publicly address the episode on Monday but this is not thought to be the case at this stage.<\/p>\n

It comes as the boss of the Fire Brigades Union, Steve Wright, became the first leader of one of Labour\u2019s 11 affiliated unions to call for the prime minister to go.<\/p>\n

McSweeney\u2019s departure is a big blow to Sir Keir, with the 48-year-old Irishman having masterminded his successful bid for the Labour leadership in 2020 and the party\u2019s campaign for the general election in 2024.<\/p>\n

His deputies Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson have been appointed acting chiefs of staff in the wake of his exit, Downing Street has confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u2018Only honourable course\u2019<\/h2>\n

In a statement on Sunday, McSweeney said Lord Mandelson\u2019s appointment in December 2024 had been \u201cwrong\u201d, adding he had \u201cdamaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is understood that both the prime minister and McSweeney decided now was the right moment for him to leave.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir said it had been an \u201chonour\u201d to work with him, thanking him for \u201cturning our party around\u201d in the wake of its crushing defeat in the 2019 election.<\/p>\n

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was \u201cabout time\u201d McSweeney resigned, but added the prime minister \u201chas to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Lib Dems said Sir Keir \u201ccan change his advisers all he likes, but the buck stops with him\u201d, while Reform said Labour is \u201cjust continuing the chaos we saw under the Tories\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pay-off plea<\/h2>\n

The statement from McSweeney came just hours after a key Starmer ally had dismissed calls from within Labour for Sir Keir to sack his adviser.<\/p>\n

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Laura Kuenssberg it would not make \u201cany difference at all\u201d to the situation facing the government.<\/p>\n

He also called on Lord Mandelson to return or donate to charity the\u00a0pay-off he received\u00a0after his sacking as ambassador, estimated at up to \u00a340,000.<\/p>\n

The BBC understands that Lord Mandelson believes he accurately answered questions about his relationship with Epstein during the vetting process.<\/p>\n

Email exchanges in the latest US government release on Epstein include several from Lord Mandelson, who served as a cabinet minister in the Labour government of Gordon Brown.<\/p>\n

Among them is one indicating that Lord Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of a \u20ac500bn EU bailout in 2010 to save the Euro.<\/p>\n

Another suggests he forwarded an internal No 10 memo to the financier in 2009 discussing potential government asset sales in the wake of the financial crisis.<\/p>\n

Lord Mandelson has not responded to requests for comment, but the BBC understands his position is that he has not acted criminally and was not motivated by financial gain.<\/p>\n

He has resigned as a member of the House of Lords, with the government pledging to introduce legislation required to strip him of his title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Morgan McSweeney has resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff after mounting scrutiny of his role in Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1910,16271,16596,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","category-lord-mandelson","category-morgan-mcsweeney","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}