The Latest Breaking News from Downing Street

There was a very real chance the PM would be out after losing two senior staffers but some well-organised support bought him some time

THE INDEPENDENT VIEW: Editorial: It would be detrimental to the country if the prime minister were to be bowled out of office so soon after winning a historic election. For all the setbacks, he must come out fighting

NEWS ANALYSIS: As Tim Allan stands down as Keir Starmer’s fourth director of communications – a day after former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit – the PM is looking increasingly vulnerable, writes David Maddox

A new biography reveals Brown to be a man of exceptional vision and probity – what a contrast with today’s politics

Allies hope aide’s departure can quell anger over Mandelson scandal but others say it leaves PM dangerously exposed

The political storm surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer intensified on Sunday after it emerged that Lord Peter Mandelson received a five-figure, taxpayer-funded exit payment following his dismissal as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. This payment is now being reviewed following the latest revelations in the Epstein files.

Longtime aide has said he takes ‘full responsibility’ for advising PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador

Downing Street says PM will be ‘out and about’ in the coming week ‘making the case for why [his] government is delivering for working people’

IN FOCUS: Keir Starmer’s premiership has lurched between crises, but his handling of the Mandelson scandal could prove to be fatal. Kate Devlin and David Maddox hear from Labour MPs who are furious about this week’s events, and fearful for the future