Morgan McSweeney, chief of staff to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has resigned following mounting controversy over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States, amid renewed scrutiny of Mandelson’s past links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement released on Sunday (February 8), McSweeney acknowledged responsibility for advising Prime Minister Starmer on Mandelson’s appointment and admitted the decision had been a mistake. “After careful reflection, I have decided to step down from my role in government,” he said. “The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong and has damaged trust in our party, our country, and politics more broadly.”

The resignation comes after recently released US Justice Department documents revealed financial transactions between Epstein and Mandelson in the early 2000s. According to Al Jazeera, Epstein transferred a total of $75,000 to Mandelson through three separate payments in 2003 and 2004, reigniting public and political backlash in the UK.

Facing intense criticism, Mandelson was initially removed from the ambassadorial post and later resigned from the Labour Party altogether. Labour lawmakers had increasingly blamed McSweeney for pushing through the nomination without adequate vetting, with several MPs publicly calling for his resignation.

McSweeney, 48, was widely regarded as a close ally and longtime associate of Mandelson. Critics within Labour and opposition parties accused the government of failing to properly assess Mandelson’s past associations before putting him forward for one of Britain’s most sensitive diplomatic roles.

Prime Minister Starmer, in a separate statement, praised McSweeney’s service, calling it an “honour” to have worked with him. McSweeney had served as chief of staff since October 2024 and was considered a key figure in Starmer’s inner circle.

The controversy has added to wider political fallout from the Epstein revelations, which have also prompted renewed debate over the conduct of senior British figures with historical links to the disgraced financier. Mandelson previously served as a cabinet minister under former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and was a member of the House of Lords between 1992 and 2004.

BOB Post