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Mandelson appointment fallout
Morgan McSweeney resigned as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff on 8 February 2026, accepting "full responsibility" for advising that Lord Peter Mandelson be appointed UK ambassador to Washington.
“Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned after advising the prime minister to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US — an appointment thrown into the spotlight by recently released US documents linking Mandelson to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.”
The appointment collapsed after newly released US Department of Justice documents linked Mandelson to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reporting says McSweeney called the decision "wrong," said it had damaged public trust, and urged an overhaul of vetting and due diligence.
Starmer thanked him for his service and named deputies to act in the role.
Mandelson and Epstein Allegations
Newly released Justice Department files and reporting allege Peter Mandelson had closer contact with Jeffrey Epstein than previously disclosed and that he may have shared market-sensitive information around the 2008 financial crisis.
Media and police responses followed, with the Metropolitan Police opening an inquiry and searching properties while multiple outlets reported questions about payments and alleged document sharing.
Publications note Mandelson was sacked from his ambassadorial role in 2024/2025 after earlier revelations and later resigned from the Lords.
Resignation and vetting dispute
McSweeney’s resignation statement and contemporaneous coverage differ over his role in vetting and the internal decision-making chain.
“McSweeney took 'full responsibility' for advising the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US despite Mandelson’s publicly known links to Jeffrey Epstein. McSweeney said the decision had damaged trust in politics and called for a fundamental overhaul of the vetting process; he was replaced immediately in an acting capacity by deputies Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson.”
McSweeney said the advice to proceed was wrong, accepted full responsibility, urged an overhaul of vetting and due diligence, and asked that Epstein’s victims be remembered.
At the same time, several reports emphasize he said he did not personally carry out security checks.
Coverage notes that advisers advise while ministers make final calls, and some Labour figures defended him as an adviser rather than the appointing authority.
Political fallout and responses
The political fallout stretches across party lines and geography.
Starmer thanked McSweeney and credited him for helping secure Labour’s 2024 victory, but opposition leaders and some Labour figures called for accountability and even the prime minister’s resignation.
Deputies Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson were named acting joint chiefs of staff.
Commentators warn the row could damage Starmer’s standing ahead of local polls and has prompted calls for broader vetting reform.
Reactions ranged from calls for an independent inquiry to warnings that the resignation might not be enough to settle questions about judgment and process.
Developing investigative coverage
Key factual and investigative threads remain unresolved and contested in coverage.
“Court documents reportedly suggest McSweeney may have passed market‑sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein in 2009–10; those reports have prompted a UK police inquiry into possible misconduct in public office.”
Some reports cite news‑agency and DOJ material suggesting links and possible leaks.
Other pieces note that many pages are redacted or that reporting has not been independently verified, and outlets differ on whether the emerging disclosures directly implicate McSweeney.
The Sunday Guardian and some regional outlets cite further court and news‑agency reports that could broaden the inquiry, while several mainstream sources stress the developing nature of the story and the government's promise to publish related communications.
That uncertainty leaves both legal and political questions open as investigations and document releases continue.