Epstein files row has put the fate of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in uncertainty as he faces growing calls for resignation after uproar over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington. Mandelson’s past ties to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019, has created tensions within UK’s ruling party which were further heightened following Starmer’s closest aide and Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, stepped down to take “full responsibility” for Mandelson’s appointment.
“Anyone that has any association with Peter Mandelson should be nowhere near government,” Steve Wright, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, was quoted as saying by the BBC.
For now, Starmer has shored up his position, though the reprieve is likely only to be temporary, Bloomberg reported, adding that Starmer appeared to be safe in the immediate term after he secured the public support of every cabinet minister, including potential rivals Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband, as well as another possible successor, former deputy premier Angela Rayner.
Starmer also delivered a speech which some described as his most passionate speech yet.
“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,” Starmer was quoted as saying.
As Starmer faces risk of losing the post, one name that is being floated as the frontrunner for UK’s prime minister post is Shabana Mahmood, who is currently the home secretary. She is known for her hardliner stance on immigration reforms for the country.
Shabana Mahmood–an immigrant opposed to immigration
Mahmood, who is the daughter of immigrants from Pakistan and has roots in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, has stated that staying in the UK is a “privilege and not a right”, and hence the laws must also reflect a similar stance.
Mahmood, 45, could be UK’s first Muslim prime minister if Starmer steps down amid mounting pressure over Epstein gate.
Mahmood is a lawyer-politician and a key ally of Starmer and is recognised as a persuasive speaker within the party.
Some Labour leaders believe that Shabana Mahmood, who has conservative social views, would be the best successor to Starmer. However, her tough stance on immigration taken while she was the home secretary has taken hit among the Labour members.
Though her opinions on immigration are quite strong and has even said that immigration is a privilege and not a right, but she is herself born into an immigrant family in Birmingham. Her mother Zubaida and father Mahmood Ahmed have roots in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Mirpur town.
Since entering the Home Office in 2025, she has been tasked with the high-stakes mandate of managing the UK’s border security.
She got her law degree from in 2002 from Lincoln College, Oxford; and completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law the next year to become a barrister.
In 2010, she became one of the first female Muslim MPs, along with Rushanara Ali and Yasmin Qureshi.