Overview
- Keir Starmer rejected calls to resign and won public declarations of support from his ministers after delivering a forceful address to Labour MPs.
- Senior aides Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan resigned, and reporters say Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald could follow, underscoring continuing instability in Downing Street.
- Starmer acknowledged he knew of Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties when appointing him in 2024 and authorized disclosure of related government communications to Parliament’s intelligence committee.
- Police are reported to be investigating Mandelson over alleged sharing of sensitive information from the 2008–09 financial crisis period referenced in the Epstein files.
- Labour’s standing has slumped in polls, markets briefly wobbled before recovering after the cabinet show of unity, and a late‑February by‑election plus May regional and local contests now loom as key tests.