Keir Starmer’s communications chief quits to make way for ‘new No 10 team’

Another key ally of Sir Keir Starmer has quit as the Prime Minister fights for his political survival amid the fallout of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

Downing Street communications chief Tim Allan said he was standing down to allow “a new No 10 team to be built”.

Sir Keir, meanwhile, told staff at Downing Street that they must “go forward from here” and prove that politics can be a “force for good”.

It comes a day after the resignation of his top aide, Morgan McSweeney.

Mr Allan, the executive director of communications at No 10, said: “I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built.

“I wish the PM and his team every success.”

Mr Allan, a former adviser to Sir Tony Blair’s government, was appointed in September as Sir Keir sought to improve communications across his administration.

Mr McSweeney’s departure has prompted a shake-up of the No 10 operation, with his deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, made joint acting chiefs of staff.

Sir Keir said in an address to No 10 staff: “We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”

He said they are united by a “driving purpose” of “public duty”.

Speaking to his team about the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson British ambassador to Washington, he said: “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.

“I have been absolutely clear that I regret the decision that I made to appoint Peter Mandelson. And I’ve apologised to the victims which is the right thing to do.”

He also paid tribute to Mr McSweeney as a “colleague and a friend”.

“We changed the Labour Party together. We won a general election together. And none of that would have been possible without Morgan McSweeney.

“His dedication, his commitment and his loyalty to our party and our country was second to none. And I want to thank him for his service.”

Ministers insisted on Monday that Sir Keir is taking responsibility for his decision to make Lord Mandelson his ambassador to the US, amid accusations from the Tories that he is allowing his former chief of staff to “carry the can”.

The Prime Minister is later expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) amid anger over his appointment of the peer as ambassador to the US despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, who worked closely with Mr McSweeney during the campaign which led to Labour’s 2024 landslide, said he was disappointed that he had quit.

Mr McFadden told the Press Association: “Yes, I think he’s done a lot for the Labour Party in the country.”

Before Sir Keir’s address to Labour MPs, Mr McFadden said: “I think he will acknowledge what’s gone wrong.

“He’ll take responsibility for the decision, but he’ll say the Government still has a lot of important work to do, and he wants to lead that work, and I believe he deserves the support of the parliamentary party in doing that.”

Labour veteran Baroness Smith rejected reports that Sir Keir is considering resigning and said he is “determined” to continue with his agenda for change.

She told Times Radio: “The Prime Minister is taking responsibility. He took responsibility for the decision that was made about Peter Mandelson, although, to be clear here it was, of course, Peter Mandelson that in consistent lying and engagement with Jeffrey Epstein let down the party and the Government and the country.

“And I think that will become clearer as the information around the appointment is put out into the public domain.”

The pressure on Sir Keir’s premiership looks unlikely to ease as the Government prepares for the lengthy process of releasing tens of thousands of emails, messages and documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

Sir Keir believes the files will prove the former Labour grandee lied about the extent of his ties to the notorious paedophile during his vetting.

The Prime Minister is also expected to speak to the women’s PLP after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and make on-camera interventions this week.

He and Mr McSweeney have pinned blame on vetting by the security services for failing to disprove Lord Mandelson’s claims that he barely knew the late financier, which were later dramatically debunked by disclosures in the so-called Epstein files.

Officials have been tasked with examining that process as a priority.