UK’s top civil servant quits as PM Starmer tries to calm Epstein storm

The UK’s top civil servant resigned on Thursday, the third senior aide to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to quit in a matter of days in fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

“Chris Wormald will stand down as the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service by mutual agreement from today,” a joint statement released by the government said.

His departure comes after two top aides quit earlier this week over the row triggered by the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his links to the late US convicted sex offender Epstein.

The fallout from Mandelson’s appointment was sparked by emails showing that he had remained friends with Epstein long after the latter’s conviction in 2008. It is the most serious crisis of Starmer’s 19-month tenure.

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, a Labour Party stalwart, left on Sunday for advising Starmer to make the contentious Mandelson appointment.

Deprived of his closest adviser, Starmer was then left scrambling to shore up his premiership as another top aide, communications chief Tim Allan, quit on Monday just months into the role.