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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of ‍staff Morgan McSweeney has quit, saying he took responsibility for advising Starmer to name Peter Mandelson ​as ambassador to the US despite his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

After new files revealed the depth of the Labour veteran's relationship with the late sex offender, Starmer is ⁠facing what is widely seen as the gravest crisis of his 18 months in power over his decision to send Mandelson to Washington DC in December 2024.

The loss of McSweeney, 48, a strategist who was instrumental in Starmer's rise to power, is the latest in a series of setbacks, less than two years after the Labour Party won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in the United Kingdom's modern history.

McSweeney said in a statement that he ‍had been closely involved in the appointment of Mandelson.

"The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson ​was ​wrong. He ​has damaged our party, our country ​and trust in politics itself," McSweeney said in a statement posted on X by political correspondents.

"When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for ‍that advice."

Starmer had fired Mandelson in September from his ambassadorial job over earlier revelations about his Epstein ties.

But critics say the emails recently published by the US Justice Department have brought serious concerns about Starmer's judgment to the fore.

They argue that he should have known better than to appoint Mandelson in the first place.