Ex Minister Jess Phillips Threatened To Quit Over Peter Mandelson

Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said she threatened to resign over Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The ex-Labour peer was hired in late 2024, even though his ties to prolific paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were well-known.

Mandelson was sacked in September 2025 when new documents showed the extent of his friendship with Epstein.

He quit the Labour Party earlier this year when more revelations came to light, and is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police over allegations of misconduct in public office. He denies any accusations of wrongdoing.

The saga has cast a huge shadow over Starmer’s government and his work to prevent violence against women and girls.

Phillips, a vocal advocate for victims, quit government after Labour’s drubbing in the local elections.

She has now revealed to BBC Newsnight that Mandelson’s appointment almost pushed her to resign long before she actually stepped down.

Upon learning that the then-Labour peer had secured the top job, Phillips said she felt “hurt, and upset, and anger.”

“I had to decide whether me shouting my mouth off about that to make myself feel better was the right thing to do or I could use that hurt, anger, to sweat the assets on violence against women and girls, to get half of what is written in the violence against women and girls strategy actually written into it,” Phillips continued.

“Never waste a crisis is always my mantra,” she said. “But privately, I was horrified, like everybody else.”

Asked if she considered quitting, Phillips said: “I didn’t just consider it, I threatened to resign on a number of occasions and made demands to stop me from resigning.”

The MP for Birmingham Yardley said she had “conversations I won’t repeat” with the prime minister over it.

“But I have to say I think I was one of the only people who actually did that,” she added.

When she quit earlier this month, Phillips told Starmer in a letter: “I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things however I have seen first-hand how that is not enough.”

She added: “I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect, and so cannot continue to serve as a minister under the current leadership.”

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.