00:00Another head has rolled at Downing Street.
00:03The Chief of Staff to the British Prime Minister, Morgan McSweeney, quit on Sunday
00:07and in doing so took the fall for appointing Peter Mandelson
00:11despite his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
00:15The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong.
00:18He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.
00:22When asked, I advise the Prime Minister to make that appointment
00:25and I take full responsibility for that advice.
00:30Heat has been mounting on Keir Starmer over his choice to take on Mandelson,
00:34the former ambassador to Washington and veteran British politician,
00:38who was further embroiled in the Epstein scandal last week,
00:42when newly released emails appeared to indicate he had leaked sensitive information
00:46to the convicted sex offender while serving as a government minister.
00:52McSweeney is widely credited as being the mastermind behind Labor's 2024 election landslide.
00:58As Chief of Staff to the PM, he yielded a powerful role,
01:03advising Starmer directly on policy and strategy.
01:07His departure will be a big loss for the Labor leader, who praised his service.
01:12It's been an honour working with Morgan McSweeney for many years.
01:16He turned our party around after one of its worst ever defeats
01:19and played a central role running our election campaign.
01:23Still, McSweeney's resignation may not be enough to simmer Starmer's political crisis.
01:28He is also under heat for a payout made to Mandelson estimated between £38,000 and £55,000,
01:35when he had only held the post for seven months.
01:38Opposition leader Kemi Beidinok seized McSweeney's resignation
01:43as an opportunity to accuse Starmer of shifting blame,
01:47while also saying it was about time the aide resigned.
01:51How.
01:56How.
02:10How.
02:10How.
02:10How.
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