Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Downing Street director of communications Tim Allan has stepped down as a scandal over Sir Keir Starmer’s appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador threatens to engulf his premiership.
Starmer has come under increasing pressure over the past week following revelations about Mandelson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein as part of the US Department of Justice’s release of millions of files relating to the late sex offender.
Allan’s departure comes a day after Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned, saying he took full responsibility for advising the prime minister to appoint Mandelson as envoy to the US. Mandelson himself was sacked in September.
Allan said on Monday: “I have decided to stand down to allow a new Number 10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success.”
Starmer has faced calls to stand down as prime minister in recent days, including from within his own party, as the fallout from the Mandelson revelations has gathered momentum. He will address Labour MPs on Monday evening in an effort to shore up his position.
One Labour frontbencher said Allan’s exit gave the impression that Starmer’s administration, which has been characterised by a rapid turnover of staff in communications and policy roles, was a “sinking ship”.
A person familiar with the matter said that Allan had even closer links to Mandelson than McSweeney. The extent of the links is likely to come out in disclosure documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment that the government has promised to release, the person said.
They added that Allan was “a very rightwing Labour person, ultra-Blairite”, and so would be unlikely to support a leftward shift if Starmer were to change direction to save his premiership.
Allan, a Blair-era veteran and founder of the communications agency Portland, had only taken up his post in September.
His successor will be the fourth Downing Street director of communications under Starmer, following the previous departures of Lord Matthew Doyle and James Lyons.
At least seven other senior Downing Street staff members have quit or been fired since Starmer became prime minister in July 2024.
Allan not only founded Portland but also maintained a minority stake in Strand Partners, another public affairs company. Strand has clients including the British Horseracing Authority, Ovo Energy, Cadent Gas and Netflix.
In addition, he retained a minority stake in Thorndon Partners, which provides strategic communications services and says it works with some of the world’s leading law firms.
One person with knowledge of the situation said that officials were surprised when Allan was appointed that he was allowed to hold the role of communications director while retaining stakes in the companies.
There is no suggestion that Allan broke any rules by maintaining the holdings.
The person claimed that Allan had “leaned heavily on the Mandelson precedent that it was OK to own shares in a lobbying company” while serving in government.
Allan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mandelson had retained a stake in Global Counsel while he was UK ambassador to the US.
Following Allan’s exit on Monday, Starmer sought to rally staff in Number 10 with an address in which he argued they were united by a “driving purpose” of “public duty”.
He reiterated his anger and regret over appointing Mandelson and paid tribute to McSweeney as a “colleague and friend”. The prime minister insisted the government is having a positive impact in tackling the cost of living and cutting NHS waiting lists.
“We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country,” Starmer said.
