The director of communications for Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain resigned on Monday, adding to a sense of crisis for the government and growing questions about Mr. Starmer’s leadership.
The communications director, Tim Allan, a veteran political operative who only joined Mr. Starmer’s government about five months ago, quit less than 24 hours after Morgan McSweeney stepped down as the prime minister’s chief of staff over ties between Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson.
Mr. McSweeney resigned after acknowledging that he had urged Mr. Starmer to appoint Mr. Mandelson to the post in late 2024.
Mr. Allan, a longtime friend of Mr. Mandelson who worked with him when Tony Blair was prime minister in the 1990s, said in a statement, “I have decided to stand down to allow a new No. 10 team to be built.”
“I wish the P.M. and his team every success,” he added.
The decision to appoint Mr. Mandelson is at the center of a political crisis that threatens to bring down Mr. Starmer’s premiership. Files released by the U.S. Justice Department revealed that Mr. Mandelson and Mr. Epstein had a longer and closer friendship than was previously known. The documents also appear to show that when Mr. Mandelson was a member of the government in 2009, he sent confidential and market-sensitive information to Mr. Epstein, including an email sent to Gordon Brown, the prime minister at the time.
Critics and allies of Mr. Starmer have demanded to know what he knew about the relationship between the two men when he appointed Mr. Mandelson to the post. The prime minister has insisted that Mr. Mandelson lied about the extent of his ties to Mr. Epstein.
In a speech to his staff on Monday morning, Mr. Starmer once again lashed out at the former ambassador.
“The thing that makes me most angry is the undermining of the belief that politics can be a force for good and can change lives,” Mr. Starmer said in a speech to staff at 10 Downing Street, according to a readout from political aides of the closed-door speech.
“I have been absolutely clear that I regret the decision that I made to appoint Peter Mandelson,” the prime minister added. “And I’ve apologized to the victims, which is the right thing to do.”
Mr. Starmer also vowed to continue working to implement the agenda of the Labour Party, which won an overwhelming majority 18 months ago, ending more than 14 years of government by the Conservative Party. Mr. Starmer’s aides told a daily briefing with journalists that the prime minister did not intend to resign.
“We go forward from here,” Mr. Starmer said in his speech to staff. “We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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