UK PM’s chief of staff resigns over Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador despite Epstein links

By Caitlin Danaher, James Frater, CNN

London (CNN) — The chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on Sunday over the scandal around Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, despite his links to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself,” Morgan McSweeney said in a statement to reporters on Sunday.

The Downing Street chief of staff is the most senior political adviser to the UK prime minister.

McSweeney said he took “full responsibility” for advising Starmer to make the appointment last year, adding “in the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.”

“While I did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled. This cannot simply be a gesture but a safeguard for the future,” McSweeney said.

Starmer thanked the outgoing chief of staff for his service and commitment to the Labour Party. “It is largely thanks to his dedication, loyalty and leadership that we won a landslide majority and have the chance to change the country,” the prime minister said in a statement.

The most recent tranche of Epstein files released by the US Justice Department triggered a police investigation into Mandelson, who has been accused of passing on market-sensitive government information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein following the 2008 financial crisis. Police raided two of Mandelson’s properties on Friday as part of their investigation into misconduct in public office.

Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party last Sunday and quit the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Britain’s parliament, on Wednesday. CNN has been unable to contact Mandelson this week.

The Mandelson scandal has plunged Keir Starmer’s government into crisis and raised questions about the prime minister’s political judgment. Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador last year, despite his well-known friendship with Epstein, which continued after the financier was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

CNN’s Christian Edwards contributed reporting.

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