Sir Keir Starmer has promoted two of Morgan McSweeney’s deputies to acting chiefs of staff positions as he attempts to stabilize his government following the dramatic resignation of his top adviser over the Lord Mandelson scandal.
Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson were elevated to the joint role with immediate effect on Friday, hours after McSweeney stepped down accepting “full responsibility” for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador despite his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Both women have been long-standing members of Starmer’s inner circle throughout his time as opposition leader and in government. Cuthbertson managed the Prime Minister’s private office until Labour’s landslide victory in 2024, whilst Alakeson served as the party’s Director of External Relations.
The appointments come at a critical moment for Starmer’s premiership, with his own political future under scrutiny amid questions about his judgment in selecting Mandelson for the sensitive Washington posting. McSweeney’s departure followed police raids on Lord Mandelson’s homes in Camden and Wiltshire on Friday night as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.
McSweeney had faced intensifying pressure from within the Labour Party after being blamed for pushing the appointment of his ally despite knowledge of Mandelson’s continued dealings with Epstein after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences. The Prime Minister was forced to sack Mandelson from the ambassadorial role in September last year as further details emerged about their relationship.
In his resignation statement, McSweeney said: “The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself. When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
The former Chief of Staff added: “In public life, responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient. In the circumstances, the only honourable course is to step aside.”
The resignation came just hours after Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden stated there was no point in McSweeney’s departure “if the Prime Minister stays,” highlighting growing tensions within government over ultimate accountability for the scandal.
Opposition leaders seized on the appointments as evidence of chaos at the heart of government. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated: “It’s about time. But once again with this PM it’s somebody else’s fault: ‘Mandelson lied to me’ or ‘Morgan advised me’. Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions. But he never does.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage predicted: “As predicted McSweeney has gone. Labour are just continuing the chaos we saw under the Tories. My money says Starmer won’t be far behind after Labour’s disaster in the elections this coming May.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the resignation was “necessary but not sufficient,” adding: “He knew. And still appointed him. Starmer needs to go.”
Deputy Liberal Democrat leader Daisy Cooper stated: “The Prime Minister can change his advisers all he likes, but the buck stops with him. We need to see an end to this political soap opera, with answers for the British public and, most importantly, justice for the victims and survivors of Epstein and his network.”
Starmer thanked McSweeney for “his dedication, loyalty and leadership” and said it had been “an honour working with Morgan McSweeney for many years. He turned our party around after one of its worst ever defeats and played a central role running our election campaign.”
In his statement, McSweeney called for the vetting process to be fundamentally overhauled, stating: “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.”
He emphasized the need to remember “the women and girls whose lives were ruined by Jeffrey Epstein and whose voices went unheard for far too long” and insisted he remained “fully supportive of the Prime Minister” who is “working every day to rebuild trust, restore standards and serve the country.”
The peer remains under investigation over allegations of leaking market-sensitive Number 10 documents to Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis, based on files released by the US Department of Justice last week. The scandal has intensified scrutiny on Starmer’s vetting procedures and decision-making processes.
Cuthbertson and Alakeson will now oversee the promised overhaul of vetting procedures whilst managing Number 10’s operations during one of the most turbulent periods of Starmer’s premiership. Their immediate challenge will be restoring confidence in government appointment processes whilst shielding the Prime Minister from further political damage as opposition parties sense vulnerability.
