UK PM Starmer under pressure as Epstein-linked row rocks Labour

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in central London. PIC/GETTY IMAGES

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's position hung by a thread on Monday as he tried to persuade his Labour Party's lawmakers not to kick him out of his job after just a year and a half in office.

Starmer lost his chief of staff on Sunday and is rapidly shedding support from Labour legislators after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer is due to address Labour lawmakers behind closed doors later Monday in an attempt to rebuild some of his shattered authority. The political storm stems from Starmer's decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain's most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier's 2008 conviction for sex offences involving a minor.

A new trove of Epstein files released in the US has brought more details about the relationship and new pressure on Starmer, who apologised last week for "believing Mandelson's lies". He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein.

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