'Not Prepared To Walk Away': Starmer Vows To Fight For His Job Amid Fallout Over Epstein Files

Last Updated:February 10, 2026, 08:24 IST

UK PM Keir Starmer survived a day of high tension after several Labour Party lawmakers demanded him to step down amid Peter Mandelson row.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday just survived his near-death experience in his political career and vowed to fight for his job as revelations about the relationship between the former UK ambassador to Washington and Jeffrey Epstein spiralled into a full-blown crisis for his 19-month-old government.

While Starmer survived a full day of chaos after his full cabinet rallied behind him, several warned that he was not out of danger. The Prime Minister’s standing within his own Labour Party has been weakened by the fallout from the release of files related to Epstein — a man he never met and whose sexual misconduct has not implicated Starmer.

Several lawmakers in Starmer’s Labour Party have also called on him to resign for his judgment in appointing Peter Mandelson to the high-profile diplomatic post in 2024 despite his ties to the convicted sex offender.

Addressing a packed room of Labour members of Parliament, Starmer urged his party to rally behind him, saying he had “won every fight he has ever been in".

“After having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos as others have done," Starmer said, CNN reported.

The situation became more intense for Starmer as his director of communications, Tim Allan, on Monday said that he was quitting the government. His announcement came just less than a day after Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff and his closest adviser, resigned over his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States last year.

Starmer is currently facing the biggest crisis over his decision to appoint Mandelson. The Mandelson revelations have dominated British media for days, snowballing into one of the country’s biggest political scandals this century.

News world 'Not Prepared To Walk Away': Starmer Vows To Fight For His Job Amid Fallout Over Epstein Files

Read More