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From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 9, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 9, 2026
UK’s Starmer refuses to heed calls to quit over Mandelson-Epstein scandal
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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex, in St Leonards-on-Sea, southeast England, February 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “is concentrating on the job in hand” and will not resign, his official spokesman says, as the embattled leader faces intense pressure over the Epstein scandal.
Starmer was “getting on with the job of delivering change across the country,” the spokesman tells reporters, hours after the prime minister’s communications chief and chief of staff both resigned.
The Labour leader, in office for 19 months, is himself facing calls from opposition politicians to resign over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite knowing Mandelson had maintained links to Epstein after the US sex offender was convicted in 2008.
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