UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Faces Crisis Amid Links to Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein

Keir Starmer has taken office at a time when completing a full term as UK prime minister has become the exception rather than the rule. The last leader to see out a full term was Tony Blair, who left office in 2007 after a decade in power. Although Blair won three elections in 1997, 2001 and 2005, he stepped down before completing his third term, ushering in a prolonged period of political instability at the top of British politics. Blair was succeeded by Gordon Brown, whose tenure was shaped by the global financial crisis and ended with defeat in the 2010 general election. David Cameron followed, serving from 2010 until 2016, when he resigned after the Brexit referendum delivered a result he had opposed. Theresa May then took over but failed to unite Parliament around her Brexit deal, resigning in 2019. Boris Johnson went on to win a decisive mandate later that year, only to quit in 2022 amid scandals and growing pressure from within his own party. His successor, Liz Truss, lasted just seven weeks after her economic plans triggered market turmoil. Rishi Sunak stepped in to steady the government and served from 2022 to 2024, but ultimately led the Conservatives to defeat, clearing the way for Starmer’s victory. With nearly two decades having passed since a prime minister last served a full term, Starmer entered Downing Street already facing a modern political record that has proved unforgiving to those who try to last. That pressure has now intensified with the fallout from the links between veteran politician Peter Mandelson — appointed by Starmer as Britain’s ambassador to the United States — and the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The appointment has drawn sharp criticism across the political spectrum, including from within Starmer’s own Labour Party. Starmer removed Mandelson in September after emails revealed that he remained in contact with Epstein even after the latter’s conviction for sex offences involving a minor. Further emails released by the US Justice Department have since shown that Mandelson passed on sensitive information to Epstein in 2009, when he was serving as a member of the Labour Cabinet. The controversy has placed Starmer under mounting pressure, with some Labour figures calling on him to step down. The crisis has already claimed senior scalps. Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned on Sunday after taking responsibility for backing Mandelson’s appointment, while Director of Communications Tim Allan quit a day later. The loss of two senior aides in quick succession underscores the scale of the turmoil as Starmer attempts to draw a line under a crisis that has engulfed his government. As the scandal deepens, speculation over potential successors has intensified. Figures seen as harbouring leadership ambitions include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who resigned last year after admitting she had underpaid tax on a house purchase — an investigation into the matter remains ongoing. Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Manchester, has also been mentioned, though longstanding convention requires the prime minister to be a member of Parliament, making him ineligible unless he first secures a Commons seat. For Starmer, the Epstein-linked controversy has become an early and severe test — one that risks placing him squarely within Britain’s recent pattern of short-lived premierships rather than breaking it. Government cuts social media takedown deadline from 36 hours to 3 hours for flagged content, effective February 20, 2026. New rules require mandatory disclosure and visible labeling of AI-generated or deepfake content, with embedded metadata for traceability. Platforms must now acknowledge user complaints within two hours and resolve them within seven days under amended IT rules. Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.