Newslinks for Monday 9th February 2026

How long can Starmer cling on after chief of staff quits?

“Keir Starmer’s premiership was in freefall on Sunday after his right-hand man walked the plank over the Mandelson scandal. Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit over his part in the disastrous appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Mr McSweeney said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the decision to send the disgraced peer to Washington, despite knowing he had stood by Jeffrey Epstein after the depraved financier was jailed for child-sex offences. But Labour MPs are openly speculating about how long Sir Keir can continue without the man who masterminded his rise to power and who was seen as ‘the PM’s brain’. Left-wingers called for the PM to resign, with former campaigns chief Jon Trickett warning: ‘The buck stops at the top.’… Kemi Badenoch welcomed Mr McSweeney’s resignation, saying it was ‘about time’. But the Tory leader said the PM ultimately had to ‘take responsibility’ for agreeing an appointment that has triggered a wave of public revulsion. In a post on X, she said: ‘Once again with this PM it’s somebody else’s fault: “Mandelson lied to me” or “Morgan advised me”. Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions. But he never does.’ Mr McSweeney is the second chief of staff to depart during Sir Keir’s turbulent reign, following the sacking of Sue Gray just months after the 2024 election.” – Daily Mail

• Morgan McSweeney resigns as Starmer’s chief of staff — as it happened – The Times
• Morgan McSweeney resignation ignites Labour civil war as furious allies say aide was made scapegoat in bid to save PM – The Sun
• After McSweeney quits, his allies point finger at Powell – Daily Telegraph
• ‘Dead man walking’: No 10 chief’s resignation may be too late to save Starmer – The i

Comment:

• The fall of the house of Blair is now almost complete – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
• Morgan McSweeney’s resignation won’t save Starmer – Anne McElvoy, The i
• Keir Starmer left in purgatory by Morgan McSweeney’s exit – Trevor Phillips, The Times
• If McSweeney had to go over Mandelson, so too must Starmer – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
• What links Jeffrey Epstein and Keir Starmer’s government? A thick seam of contempt – Nesrine Malik, The Guardian

> Yesterday:

Jockeying for Labour leadership steps up a gear with Streeting and Rayner

“MPs are secretly planning to lend staff to work on a leadership campaign by Wes Streeting in anticipation of a formal move to dislodge Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister. Allies of the health secretary have held talks with their parliamentary officials and suggested they hold back annual leave in preparation for a challenge after the local elections in May. Streeting has remained publicly loyal to Starmer and disavowed briefings in his name. However, in private remarks at a fundraiser, he said Labour must “meet the moment” and avoid voters thinking that “things can only get worse”. Labour rebels hoping to install Streeting as prime minister have continued quietly preparing for a contest, not wanting to be seen to directly agitate against Starmer in the run-up to the Gorton & Denton by-election on February 26. But one Labour MP said: “I’ve already told my staff, ‘If you want to take annual leave later in the year to go and work on Wes’s leadership campaign, I’d be fully supportive of that’.” Another said: “These conversations are already happening, because even though colleagues have accepted there won’t be a change before May, they want Wes to be ready as soon as possible after.” Streeting’s allies think he should move swiftly in the event of a poor set of election results for Starmer. They fear that a longer wait will only benefit Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister last September over unpaid stamp duty still unresolved with HMRC.” – The Times

• Angela Rayner offers help to speed up HMRC inquiry into tax affairs – The Times
• Keir Starmer facing day of reckoning as Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting ‘line up leadership bids’ – GBNews
• Hair apparent: Tipped for the top Angela Rayner gets haircut as Keir Starmer’s No 10 operation implodes – Daily Mail

Comment:

• Why Angela Rayner would be the most abysmal PM of my lifetime – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• Angela Rayner puts UK on the brink – one word could detonate full-blown financial crisis – Harvey Jones, Daily Express

Pro-democracy Briton Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong

“The UK foreign secretary has said a jail term handed down by a Hong Kong court to pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai is “tantamount to a life sentence”. The media tycoon and British citizen was found guilty ​of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one ​count of publishing seditious materials in December last year. The 78-year-old had denied all the charges against him, ‌saying in court he was a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed with that assessment and, in a statement, called the sentence a “politically motivated prosecution” aimed at Mr Lai “for exercising his right to freedom of expression”… Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong. The longstanding critic of ⁠the Chinese Communist Party had previously been sentenced for several lesser offences during his five years in prison. Lai has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement. His family say his health has worsened as a result and that he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart palpitations. – Sky News

• Jimmy Lai jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong – Daily Telegraph
• Jimmy Lai gets prison term ‘tantamount to a life sentence’ – The Independent
• Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong pro-democracy figure, sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security offences – The Guardian
• Hong Kong court jails pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years – BBC News

News in brief:

• Morgan McSweeney’s resignation won’t save Starmer – Tim Shipman, The Spectator
• Call for the King: Why the Restoration and Renewal Programme is mad, bad, dangerous for Parliament and must be stopped – Nicholas Boys Smith, The Critic
• McSweeney, Mandelson and the stain of New Labour – Neal Lawson, The New Statesman
• MAGA will win the media war: The European insurrection is doomed – UnHerd
• Peter Mandelson: The anatomy of a fall – Eliot Wilson, CityAM