Morgan McSweeney Resigns Over Mandelson Scandal

Morgan McSweeney, widely believed to be the architect of Keir Starmer’s rise to power, has resigned as the prime minister’s chief of staff over his role in empowering Peter Mandelson.

McSweeney stepped down on Sunday over his role in pushing for Mandelson to be appointed US ambassador, despite it being public knowledge that Mandelson had maintained a friendship with financier Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 conviction for child sex offences.

In a statement, McSweeney said: “The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself. “When asked, I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”

McSweeney, a protégé of Mandelson’s, reportedly advocated “keenly” for his mentor to be made ambassador and urged fellow officials to defend Mandelson in the days before he was eventually sacked in September last year.

McSweeney was appointed Labour’s campaign director in 2021, imposing a new MP selection process for the party that centralised the longlisting of candidates and blocked leftwing candidates and allies of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

From 2017, McSweeney directed the rightwing Labour thinktank Labour Together, which worked to oust Corbyn and undermine his leadership. On Friday, it emerged that the thinktank had paid a PR firm at least £30,000 to investigate journalists looking into its undeclared funding.

McSweeney is known as Starmer’s most trusted aide and has served as his chief of staff since October 2024. On Friday, the prime minister apologised to Epstein’s victims for being misled by Mandelson, claiming: “None of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship [with Epstein].” However, Mandelson’s close association with Epstein was common knowledge long before his appointment as US ambassador.