Prime Minister Keir Starmer defies calls to resign after appointing an ambassador linked to Jeffrey Epstein, as senior ministers rally around him
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defiantly refused to step down despite mounting pressure over his appointment of an ambassador linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer told Labour MPs he would not “walk away from my mandate and my responsibility” and insisted he had “won every fight I’ve ever been in”.
The crisis was triggered by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who became the most senior party figure to publicly urge Starmer to resign.
“The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” Sarwar stated at a press conference in Glasgow.
Several senior cabinet ministers quickly rallied to support the embattled prime minister following days of silence.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Chancellor Rachel Reeves all publicly backed Starmer.
Potential successors Angela Rayner and Shabana Mahmood also declared their “full support” for the party leader.
Starmer’s position was further weakened by the resignation of his second top aide in two days.
Communications chief Tim Allan quit on Monday, following the departure of chief of staff Morgan McSweeney a day earlier.
McSweeney resigned after advising Starmer to make the contentious appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Opposition leaders seized on the turmoil, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling Starmer’s position “untenable”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared that the prime minister’s tenure was “drawing to a close”.
Starmer sacked Mandelson last September after US Congress documents revealed the extent of his relationship with Epstein.
Further documents released by the US government on January 30 appeared to show Mandelson leaked confidential UK information to Epstein.
Police are now investigating Mandelson for misconduct in public office and raided two of his properties on Friday.
Starmer has apologised to Epstein’s victims and accused Mandelson of lying about his ties during the vetting process.
The government plans to release tens of thousands of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment, which could increase pressure on ministers.
Several backbench Labour MPs have suggested Starmer should resign, but no clear successor has emerged and party rules make a challenge difficult.
The party faces a crucial by-election on February 28 and local elections in May where it is expected to suffer losses.
Starmer described the fight against the rising far-right Reform UK as the “fight of our lives” in his speech to MPs.