Mandelson resigns from Labour Party over Epstein links...

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Lord Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour Party as he does not want to "cause further embarrassment" by his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The former cabinet minister, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his past connections to Epstein, appeared in the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

Documents suggest Epstein made $75,000 (£55,000) in payments to Lord Mandelson in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004.

In his letter to Labour's general secretary, Lord Mandelson said: "I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this."

He added: "Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.

"While doing this I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party.

"I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now.

"I have dedicated my life to the values and success of the Labour Party and in taking my decision, I believe I am acting in its best interests."

Earlier on Sunday, Lord Mandelson had said he did not know whether the newly released documents were authentic.

He reiterated his regret for "ever having known Epstein" and for continuing his association following the disgraced financier's conviction, apologising "unequivocally to the women and girls who suffered".

Labour MP Gordon McKee told BBC Radio 4 that Epstein's victims would be "rightly outraged" by the recent revelations and that Lord Mandelson had done the "right thing" by resigning from the Labour Party.

A Conservative Party spokesman criticised Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for "allowing Mandelson to resign from the Labour Party instead of kicking him out".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch earlier on Sunday had called on the prime minister to suspend Lord Mandelson's membership and launch an investigation into his ties to Epstein.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed had said the government was not aware of Lord Mandelson's alleged financial links to Epstein, after being asked about it by Laura Kuenssberg.

The latest documents were released by the US Department of Justice as part of millions of new files related to Epstein - the largest batch since a law mandated their release last year.

The included bank statements, first reported by the Financial Times, external, appear to show three separate payments referencing Lord Mandelson, who was Labour MP for Hartlepool at the time, being sent from Epstein's JP Morgan bank accounts.

The first, dated 14 May 2003, shows a payment was sent to a Barclays bank account where Reinaldo Avila da Silva - Lord Mandelson's partner at the time - is named as "A/C", typically an abbreviation for account.

In that payment, a "Peter Mandelson" is named on the account as "BEN", which is often an abbreviation for beneficiary.

The second and third payments of $25,000 were made to HSBC accounts only days apart in June 2004. In both, "Peter Mandelson" is the only person named, again as "BEN".

It is unclear if the three payments ever made it into any of the named accounts.

Images of the former UK ambassador to the US in his underwear have also been uncovered in the latest tranche of Epstein files.

In a redacted picture, he is seen standing next to a female, whose face is not visible.

Lord Mandelson has said he "cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were".

It is not known when or where the images of Lord Mandelson and the female were taken.

Meanwhile, emails in the files released on Friday also show Lord Mandelson tried to change government policy on a planned tax on bankers' bonuses, following requests from Epstein.

"Trying hard to amend," Lord Mandelson wrote to Epstein in December 2009. "Treasury digging in but I am on [the] case."

At the time Lord Mandelson was business secretary in Gordon Brown's government.

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Lord Mandelson has said he "cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were".

Me neither!

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Morgan McSweeney resigns as Downing Street chief of staff



Morgan McSweeney has resigned as chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer, as the UK prime minister seeks to appease angry Labour MPs and stave off leadership speculation over the fallout of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

McSweeney is widely regarded as the architect of Starmer’s landslide election victory in 2024. But in recent months he has become a lightning rod for criticism among Labour MPs, who blame him for strategic mis-steps on policy and communications.

While Labour MPs had publicly and privately been calling for McSweeney to quit, some said his departure would not resolve questions about Starmer’s judgment and could add to pressure on the prime minister.

Last September, having pushed for Mandelson to be appointed, McSweeney lobbied Starmer not to sack his political mentor as UK ambassador to the US, after an earlier cache of emails showed the peer’s proximity to Epstein.

In a resignation statement seen by the FT, McSweeney said he had advised Starmer to give Mandelson the senior diplomatic job and that he took “full responsibility for that advice”.

“In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside,” he added, calling for due diligence and vetting processes to top public roles to be “fundamentally overhauled”.

Starmer said in a statement that it had “been an honour working with Morgan McSweeney for many years”.

“He turned our party around after one of its worst ever defeats and played a central role running our election campaign. It is largely thanks to his dedication, loyalty and leadership that we won a landslide majority and have the chance to change the country,” Starmer added.

Mandelson once said of McSweeney, a former director of the influential think-tank Labour Together: “I don’t know who and how and when he was invented, but whoever it was . . . they will find their place in heaven.”

https://www.ft.com/content/af753c0f-cb24-4ff2-9630-c5095c58b038

I can't help wondering if there's a link between McSweeney's sudden resignation and the police search of Mandelson's home?

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Ex-Blair aide becomes latest departure from Starmer's team



Tim Allan brought with him experience of working for Sir Tony Blair in the early days of New Labour when he returned to Downing Street last September as part of changes by Sir Keir Starmer to his senior team.

He departs from the role of director of communications little more than five months later "to allow a new No 10 team to be built".

In the process, he becomes the latest high-profile figure to leave Downing Street and the second in less than 24 hours after Morgan McSweeney resigned as Sir Keir's chief of staff.

Allan arrived as part of a shake-up to the Downing Street operation as the prime minister tried to improve communications across his administration.

The 55-year-old had previously worked as a communications adviser for Sir Tony, both in opposition and in government, until 1998 when he decided to pursue a business career.

Allan's LinkedIn profile details how he worked for BSkyB before he founded the Portland Communications agency, which specialises in reputation management for businesses, public bodies and high profile individuals.

He was also involved in charitable and investment activities before his return to government.

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Starmer faces questions about appointment of Labour peer



Once again, Prime Minister's Questions saw a fiery exchange between Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

They largely clashed on Lord Doyle, Starmer's former comms director, being given a life peerage in 2025, despite Doyle's connections to convicted sex offender Sean Morton.

Starmer told the Commons earlier that Doyle - now known to have campaigned for Morton, a former Labour councillor, after he was charged with indecent images of children offences - had not given a full account of his actions. The whip, Starmer added, was removed on Tuesday as a result.

Badenoch, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and the SNP's Stephen Flynn didn't accept this explanation, with the latter branding Starmer "the most gullible former director of public prosecutions in history".

The question - again - seems to be what questions were asked by No 10 before making the appointment, writes our political editor Chris Mason.

Remember, this comes in the same week Starmer faced calls to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in 2024. Mandelson was subsequently sacked over his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

What happens next for Starmer remains to be seen.

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Sir Chris Wormald forced out as head of Civil Service



Sir Chris Wormald has been forced out as the head of the Civil Service and cabinet secretary.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who only appointed Sir Chris to the role in December 2024, said he was grateful "for the support he has given me over the past year".

The Cabinet Office said the move was "by mutual agreement" but it follows months of negative media reports suggesting Downing Street was unhappy with his performance.

His responsibilities will be shared by Catherine Little, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, Dame Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary at the Home Office and James Bowler, permanent secretary at the Treasury, until a replacement is appointed "shortly".

It makes Sir Chris the shortest-serving cabinet secretary in the history of the post.

At the time of his appointment, the PM said Sir Chris would be tasked with "the complete re-wiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform".

However, as a career civil servant some questioned whether he was the best person to reform the Civil Service.

Sir Chris also had ultimate responsibility for the due diligence checks carried out before Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador, although he took up the role only a few days before the appointment was formally announced.

He is the third senior official to leave the government operation in a matter of days, following Sir Keir's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his director of communications Tim Allan, as the PM seeks to reset his team after the Mandelson scandal.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Chris was "the latest person Keir Starmer has thrown under the bus to save his own skin".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey posted on X: "Very worried about who Keir Starmer will blame when there is literally no one else left in Number 10."