Why Are The Tories Putting Starmer's Top Adviser Morgan McSweeney In The Spotlight?

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a VJ Day commemorative reception in the Downing Street garden, London, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025.Keir Starmer’s No.10 operation is in the spotlight once again as his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney’s past handling of political donations is under scrutiny.The prime minister has faced several crises this month among his top leadership team – and now his opponents want his top adviser to be next.As the Tories call for a full investigation into McSweeney’s past, here’s what you need to know.What is Morgan McSweeney accused of?The Mail on Sunday claimed over the weekend that McSweeney may have misled the Electoral Commission over political donations to the think tank he used to run, Labour Together.McSweeney began running the organisation in 2017, withe the aim of replacing Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader.Once Starmer was successful elected in 2020, McSweeney left Labour Together to become his chief of staff.His Labour Together successor ,Hannah O’Rourke, later found close to three years of donations – almost £740,000-worth – had not been properly declared when she took up the post.She filed a series of of late declarations to the Commission and the organisation was fined £14,250 in 2021.While this was all public knowledge at the time, the Conservatives have revived the incident and are calling for a fresh investigation into McSweeney’s behaviour.They claim Labour Together used a “false excuse” of administrative errors to conceal the donations, which may have then been used to bolster Starmer’s leadership campaign.To back up this allegation, they’ve released a leaked email from Labour lawyer Gerald Shamash.REVEALED: Today we're taking the unprecedented step of publishing leaked legal advice given to Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney.It shows how authorities may have been misled over hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations used to install Starmer as Labour leader. pic.twitter.com/7Uucj7OPip— Conservatives (@Conservatives) September 23, 2025Shamash said there was “no easy way to explain” how Labour Together got in this position, but he urged McSweeney to drop his claim that he believed he did not have to declare the donations and describe it as an “admin error” instead.The Tory Party chair Kevin Hollinrake said publishing this legal advice was an “unprecedented step”.He said: “It shows how authorities may have been misled over hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations used to install Starmer as Labour leader. We believe there is a strong public interest in revealing the full truth to the public about possible criminal wrongdoing.”How has the government responded?The government have repeatedly stood by McSweeney so far.Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden told Times Radio he does still have faith in him, adding: “I worked with him very closely in the election campaign last year.“He’s a person of enormous talent. And these issues that are being raised today, the Electoral Commission said yesterday, I think, that they looked into them all four or five years ago.“So I think they’ve all been examined in the past. But the answer to your question is a simple yes.”Justice secretary and deputy PM David Lammy also dismissed the reports as “muck-racking” over the weekend.Downing Street has refused to respond to questions about McSweeney’s past but insists Starmer still has “full confidence” in him.What has Labour Together said?The think tank insisted it has been transparent about the payments, saying: “Labour Together proactively raised concerns about its own reporting of donations to the Electoral Commission in 2020.“The Electoral Commission’s investigation, with which Labour Together fully cooperated, was completed in 2021. The outcome was made public and widely covered by the media at the time. Since this time, we have taken measures to ensure Labour Together is fully compliant with all Electoral Commission regulations.”What about the Electoral Commission?The watchdog said it was “satisfied” with the results of its 2021 probe.“The commission thoroughly investigated the late reporting of donations by Labour Together and published our findings in 2021,” it said in a new statement.“We were satisfied that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that failures by the association occurred without reasonable excuse. Offences were determined and they were sanctioned accordingly.”Why is this so significant?McSweeney was the mastermind behind Starmer’s ascent to the top of the Labour Party in 2020 and his landslide election victory in July 2024.When Sue Gray was sacked as Starmer’s chief of staff in October last year , McSweeney swiftly stepped into her place, consolidating his power within Downing Street.He is often perceived as No.10′s key strategist and Starmer’s right-hand man – meaning any criticism thrown at him will reflect poorly on the prime minister, too.As Labourplummeted in the polls and backbenchers began to push back, McSweeney started to face intense scrutiny for his control over the No.10 operation and for supposedly steering the government in the wrong direction.Further criticism followed when more of McSweeney’s allies – including his wife, Imogen Walker MP – were appointed to top jobs after the latest reshuffle.He’s also been in the headlines after it emerged he had encouraged Starmer to appoint Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador despite his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.McSweeney allegedly lobbied for Mandelson to stay in the post even after it was revealed he had questioned Epstein’s prison sentence. Mandelson has since been sacked.This will also be a headache Starmer will want to avoid at all costs.He’s already had to change up his top ministerial team following Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister just earlier this month.Then his director of strategy Paul Ovenden also resigned after explicit messages about Diane Abbott resurfaced, causing ruptures within his team of Downing Street officials, while Mandelson’s chaotic exit strained No.10′s international reputation.If McSweeney were to go too, Starmer’s own position – and personal judgement – would once again start to look precarious.Related...More Than Half Of Brits Think Starmer Should Resign As Prime Minister'A Source Of Deep Shame': Mandelson Blame Game Begins As MPs Rip Into Keir StarmerTrump Passes The Buck To Starmer Over Difficult Epstein-Mandelson Question

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