- Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces calls to resign over appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador
- Starmer's chief of staff and communications director resigned amid the Epstein files controversy
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is the leading contender to succeed Starmer as UK prime minister
The political shockwaves from the Epstein files controversy are threatening to reshape Britain's power dynamics, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing growing calls to resign over his appointment of his former Labour colleague Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador, despite the veteran politician's ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Despite no personal wrongdoing, Starmer's leadership has now been called into question, with several Labour lawmakers calling for him to quit.
Amid mounting pressure, the prime minister's chief of staff and communications director have stepped down, taking the blame for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson. But many believe that won't be enough to keep the Labour leader in the job. While the prime minister is trying to persuade his party members to back him, Britain's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has emerged as his leading potential successor, raising the possibility that the UK could see its first Muslim prime minister.
About Shabana Mahmood
AFP
Mahmood is the first Muslim woman to hold the top position in the Home Office, a department responsible for policing, immigration, and national security. She was born on 17 September 1980 in Birmingham, England, to parents who come from Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK). She lived in Saudi Arabia for the first five years of her life with her family.
She attended Small Heath School and King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls before studying law at Lincoln College, Oxford, from which she graduated in 2002. She then completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law in 2003 and became a barrister.
Mahmood then worked as a barrister at 12 King's Bench Walk and at Berrymans Lace Mawer. In 2010, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood, becoming one of the UK's first female Muslim MPs.
From 2010 to 2015, she worked in the capacity of Shadow Minister for Prisons, Shadow Minister for Higher Education, and Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury. After the 2015 election, she was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and helped lead Yvette Cooper's campaign to become Labour leader.
When Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader later in 2015, Mahmood left her shadow cabinet job because she disagreed with his policies and worked as a regular MP.
Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, she became Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. She was appointed the Home Secretary after former Home Secretary Angela Rayner resigned in 2025.
As Home Secretary, Mahmood has one of the toughest jobs in government, overseeing immigration and law and order. She has become a favorite of many on the right wing of the Labour Party with her moves to tighten border controls and crack down on unauthorised immigration.
What's Happening In the UK?
Starmer is scrambling to avert the most serious crisis of his stuttering 19-month premiership after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar-his prominent ally-- called on him to resign for Mandelson's appointment despite knowing he had maintained links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change," said Sarwar, who is the most senior Labour politician to publicly urge Starmer to go.
However, Downing Street insisted the prime minister was going nowhere, saying he would fulfill a "five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change."
Starmer had sacked Mandelson in September last year after documents published by the US Congress revealed the extent of Mandelson's relationship with Epstein after the financier's conviction in 2008. Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex crimes.
Documents released on January 30 by the US government reignited the controversy, appearing to show that Mandelson leaked confidential UK government information to Epstein when he was a British minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
Now, the UK Police are investigating Mandelson, 72, for misconduct in a public office and raided two of his properties on Friday. He has not been arrested.
