MORGAN McSweeney is facing criticism over his role in Peter Mandelson becoming ambassador to the US after it emerged he was “very insistent” on the appointment.
Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, and close ally of Mandelson, reportedly pushed hard for the Labour peer to get the job despite concerns within the party over his friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
McSweeney has also reportedly been blamed for the delay in sacking the Labour grandee as he advised the Prime Minister that he should stick by Mandelson despite others in the party calling for him to go.
One source told Politico: “Everyone was like, this is looking really bad for the Prime Minister and Morgan was like, no, we need to defend him.”
According to the Guardian, one Labour MP described it as a “boys’ club sticking up for their own”, meanwhile another suggested that some in No 10 “think it’s OK for their mates to do bad things”.
However, a No 10 insider said McSweeney had already formed the view Mandelson should go by Wednesday lunchtime and that instead Starmer, Yvette Cooper and other aides did not make the final call until Thursday morning, the news outlet reported.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s new Mainstream movement said the Mandelson row showed that Starmer was running a “narrow and brittle political project”.
“Peter Mandelson’s inevitable sacking is what happens when you put your party factions’ interest before your party and before the country,” Luke Hurst, Mainstream’s national co-ordinator, said.
One Labour MP agreed, adding: “I think it means he needs better advisers and he needs to then listen to that advice.”
McSweeney previously worked for Mandelson during Tony Blair’s time in government, as he played a role in Labour’s campaign in marginal seats in the run-up to the 2005 General Election.
Mandelson has reportedly remained a mentor and friend to McSweeney.
Following Mandelson’s sacking on Thursday it was revealed that the security services expressed concerns before he was given the role, but No 10 went ahead with the appointment anyway.
The Prime Minister had defended Mandelson, insisting he had gone through a proper vetting process and had helped build a successful relationship with Donald Trump’s White House.
Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein had been known about, but Bloomberg and The Sun published emails showing that the relationship continued after the crimes committed by the financier had emerged.
The cache of emails obtained by Bloomberg showed that on the day before Epstein reported to jail in June 2008, Mandelson told him, “your friends stay with you and love you”.
He said: “You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.
“The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are and how strong.”
Starmer has faced backlash from many of his own MPs over the delay in sacking Mandelson, and it is now widely reported that McSweeney is also facing questions over the appointment.
