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Downing Street communications director Tim Allen has stepped down as a scandal over Sir Keir Starmer’s appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador threatens to jeopardize his prime ministership.
Pressure on Starmer has increased last week after the revelations of Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein as part of the US Justice Department’s release of millions of files related to the late sex offender.
Allen’s departure comes a day after Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned, saying he had taken full responsibility for advising the prime minister on Mandelson’s appointment as envoy to the US.
Mandelson himself was dismissed in September.
Allen said: “I have decided to stand down to allow the creation of a new No. 10 team. I wish the PM and his team every success.”
Allen, a Blair-era veteran and founder of communications agency Portland, took up his post in September.
This is a developing story
