Morgan McSweeney resigned Sunday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, citing the controversy over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s ambassador to the United States despite Mandelson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement, McSweeney said he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to what he called the country’s most important diplomatic post in 2024. McSweeney said the decision to appoint Mandelson “was wrong,” and he added that he advised Starmer to make that appointment.
The political storm has widened as newly published material connected to the Epstein files raised fresh questions about Mandelson’s conduct when he previously held senior government roles. Starmer has faced renewed scrutiny of his judgement after documents suggested Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein when Mandelson served as the United Kingdom government’s business secretary during the 2008 financial crisis.
Starmer’s government said it would release its own emails and other documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment. The government said the materials will show Mandelson misled officials, according to the Associated Press reporting. Starmer also apologized earlier in the week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies,” while maintaining that at the time of Mandelson’s selection for the top diplomat job, Starmer and others did not know “the depth of the darkness” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.
The resignation comes after Starmer acknowledged that the vetting process in 2024 had revealed Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein continued after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. McSweeney’s statement did not cite new details beyond his own role in advising the appointment, but it placed responsibility directly on his guidance for Starmer. Starmer has also faced calls from lawmakers saying he is ultimately responsible for the controversy involving Mandelson.
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said in response to the scandal that Starmer must take responsibility for his own decisions. “Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions,” Badenoch said. Starmer on Sunday credited McSweeney as a central figure in running Labour’s recent election campaign and the party’s 2004 landslide victory, but his statement did not mention the Mandelson scandal.
Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister and Labour figure, has not been arrested or charged, the AP reported. Metropolitan Police officers searched Mandelson’s London home and another property linked to him on Friday, and police said the investigation is complex and will require “a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis.” Police said the investigation centers on potential misconduct in public office and that Mandelson is not accused of any sexual offenses.
The wider dispute over the ambassadorial decision includes allegations that Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein after the 2008 global financial crisis, as well as claims about payments. The documents described by the AP include records suggesting payments totaling $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or to his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.
The AP reporting also said Mandelson previously had to resign twice from senior government posts because of scandals over money or ethics. Starmer had fired Mandelson in September from his ambassadorial job over earlier revelations about Mandelson’s Epstein ties, but critics have said that the newly published U.S. Justice Department documents have raised serious concerns about Starmer’s judgement in keeping or reappointing Mandelson to the diplomatic role.
As the investigation continues, Starmer’s government has said it will publish documentation it believes will counter the implication that officials were misled when Mandelson was selected in 2024. The resignations and police activity underscore how the Epstein-linked controversy has turned into a broader test for Starmer’s administration, now centered on vetting decisions, internal responsibility, and the scope of police scrutiny.