Keir Starmer¡¯s future is in the balance after a crisis over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington claimed the U.K. prime minister¡¯s closest aide.
Morgan McSweeney quit as chief of staff on Sunday, saying he took ¡°full responsibility¡± for his advice to hire the Labour veteran as U.S. envoy, despite Mandelson¡¯s known ties to the convicted pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. It isn¡¯t lost on Starmer¡¯s allies and opponents alike that the man who actually appointed Mandelson remains in post.
No. 10 officials were bracing for cabinet ministers to privately tell the premier to stand aside or threaten their resignations if he doesn¡¯t, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously in order to be candid about the turmoil at the top of the Labour Party. One aide to a cabinet minister said it was 50-50 whether Starmer would last the week.
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