Khaberni - Media reports indicate the possibility of the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week, following the scandal of appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
This comes after the prominent politician was linked to a friendship with American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was involved in child sexual exploitation cases.
The scandal has already led to the resignation of the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on February 8, 2026, who is considered the architect of the election campaign that brought the Labor Party to power in July 2024. The crisis intensified after Scotland Yard began a criminal investigation with Mandelson for leaking confidential government information to Epstein in 2009.
Bloomberg agency quoted sources in the ruling Labor Party saying a number of MPs are still "astonished" at Starmer's remaining in his position, as he was the one who approved Mandelson's appointment. The agency noted that some staff members in the Prime Minister's office are secretly calling on government members to persuade Starmer to resign, or to resign themselves to push him to leave. A minister's advisor estimated the likelihood of Starmer staying during the week at "50/50".
To retain his position, Starmer may propose steps including "bringing his former deputy Angela Rayner back to the government, after her resignation in September 2025 due to a tax scandal, and appointing Ed Miliband as head of a higher-status ministry to appease his ambitions."
Both Rayner and Miliband are potential candidates to succeed Starmer, along with Health Minister Wes Streeting, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Defense Minister John Healey.
The Prime Minister's Office plans containment steps, where Starmer will deliver a speech before the Labor bloc in the House of Commons on February 9, and will separately address the female deputies from the party on February 11. He is also expected to address the nation on February 9 to comment on the Mandelson appointment issue.
Mandelson was appointed ambassador in February 2025, then dismissed in September of the same year after the scandal erupted. On February 1, 2026, he announced his departure from the Labor Party and is planning to leave the House of Lords, while the government considers stripping him of his lordship.
It is worth noting that Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges related to sex trafficking of minors and committed suicide in his cell in August of the same year, leaving behind a wide network of relationships that included prominent global figures.
