The crisis plaguing the government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer deepened this Thursday (12), with the third departure of a member of management in less than a week.
In a statement, the British Labor government said that Chris Wormald will step down as Cabinet Secretary and Director of the Civil Service “by mutual agreement from today.”
“I am very grateful to Sir Chris for his long and distinguished career in public service, spanning over 35 years, and for the support he has given me over the last year. I have agreed with him that he will step down as Cabinet Secretary today. I wish him all the best for the future,” Starmer said.
In this way, Wormald, who had been in office since December 2024, became the British cabinet secretary who served the role the shortest in the country’s history. His departure comes after rumors in the UK press that the Prime Minister was dissatisfied with his work.
On Sunday (8) and Monday (9), respectively, Starmer had already lost two names from his administration: his chief of staff and main advisor, Morgan McSweeney, and his Communications director, Tim Allan, resigned.
McSweeney admitted that he had recommended the February 2025 appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States.
Mandelson was removed from office in September following the revelation of the extent of his ties to American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
Allan claimed on Monday that he was leaving his position “to allow a new team to be built at Downing Street”, in reference to the London street where the British Prime Minister’s official residence is located.
Last week, Starmer admitted he was aware of Mandelson’s ties to Epstein when he appointed him to the diplomatic post in Washington, but claimed the ally “lied” about the “extent” of that relationship.
Despite McSweeney’s resignation, the opposition and even allies of the Prime Minister, such as Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party, are calling for the resignation of Starmer, who has been in office since 2024.
The prime minister, however, has stated that he will not resign, even with surveys showing high levels of disapproval of his work.
