Leader Of Scotland’s Labour Party Calls On Starmer To Resign Over Epstein Revelations

LONDON (AP) — Scottish Labor Party leader Anas Sarwar called on the Prime Minister Keir Starmer He will resign on Monday after his relationship with the former British ambassador to Washington was revealed. Peter Mandelson and late sex offender jeffrey epstein.

With Starmer’s position hanging by a thread after just 19 months in office, Sarwar said: “The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street needs to change.”

Sarwar became the most senior Labor figure to call for Starmer’s resignation, putting further pressure on the prime minister over his decision to appoint Mandelson to the high-profile diplomatic post.

Admitting that he made this call to save the Labor Party’s chances in the semi-autonomous Parliamentary elections in Scotland in May, Sarwar said, “There were too many mistakes.”

Starmer’s chief of staff and communications director have also resigned in the past 24 hours, leaving the prime minister scrambling to shore up his crumbling authority.

Starmer’s office said in a statement on Monday that he had no plans to resign.

“He has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change and that is what he will do,” Downing Street said in a statement. he said.

A number of senior Cabinet staff spoke out in defense of Starmer. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy wrote of X: “We must not let anything distract us from our mission to change Britain, and we support the Prime Minister in doing this.” Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said: “At this critical time for the world, we need his leadership not just at home but on the global stage.” Treasury chief Rachel Reeves wrote: “With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.”

Starmer was due to address Labor MPs behind closed doors on Monday evening in a bid to rebuild some of his badly weakened authority.

The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s top diplomatic post in 2024 despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.

star player fired Mandelson After emails were released last September that showed the financier continued his friendship with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for sex crimes involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, whose career has been dotted with money and ethics scandals.

a new A trove of Epstein files The report, published in the United States, brought more details about the relationship and new pressure on Starmer.

Starmer apologized last week for “believing Mandelson’s lies”.

He promised to release documents related to Mandelson’s appointment; The government said they would show that Mandelson misled authorities about his ties to Epstein. However, the documents are weeks away from being published. They need to be examined for national security reasons and for possible conflicts with police investigations.

Police They are investigating Mandelson He was sued for possible misconduct in public office over documents showing he passed sensitive government information to Epstein fifteen years ago. The crime carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Mandelson has not been arrested or charged and is not facing any allegations of sexual misconduct.

Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned on Sunday and took responsibility for the decision, saying: “I recommended the Prime Minister make this appointment and I take full responsibility for that recommendation.”

McSweeney has been Starmer’s key lieutenant since he became Labor leader in 2020 and is considered one of Labour’s key architects. landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.

Some Labor officials hope his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust in the party and the country.

Senior MP Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought an opportunity to start over.

He said Starmer was “a good leader in the sense that he’s strong and clear. I think he needs to step up a little more than he has so far.”

Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and alone.

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer had “made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position is now untenable”.

Starmer has struggled to achieve the economic growth and restoration he has promised since he took office. broken public services and alleviates the cost of living. He promised a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-plagued Tory rule, but was beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.

Labor consistently lags behind the far-right UK Reform Party in opinion polls, and the party’s failure to improve had led to talk of a leadership battle even before Mandelson’s comments.

Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change Without the need for national elections. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, an election for the Labor leadership will be triggered. The winner will become the prime minister.

The Conservatives elected three prime ministers between the 2019 and 2024 national elections, including Liz Truss, who lasted just 49 days in office.

Starmer was elected on his promise to end the political chaos of the Conservatives’ final years in power. This was easier said than done.

Labor MP Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for”.

“I don’t think people accepted the changes in prime minister when the Conservatives were in power,” he told the BBC. “This didn’t do them any good.”