Starmer’s premiership ‘on the ropes’, says US ambassador in leaked recording
UK Ambassador to the US Sir Christian Turner said Prime Minister Keir Starmer was 'on the ropes' due to the fallout from Peter Mandelson's appointment, according to a leaked recording. Turner, who replaced Mandelson after his sacking over links to Jeffrey Epstein, suggested Labour might remove Starmer after upcoming local elections. He also criticized the US political system for not being affected by the Epstein scandal and questioned the UK's 'special relationship' with America.
- ▪Sir Christian Turner stated that Keir Starmer was 'pretty clearly on the ropes' amid the Mandelson appointment controversy.
- ▪Turner suggested the Labour Party could potentially remove Starmer as prime minister following the next month's local elections.
- ▪He expressed surprise that the Epstein scandal had brought down senior UK figures but had 'not touched anybody' in the United States.
- ▪Turner claimed the UK's 'special relationship' with the US may no longer exist, suggesting America's closest tie is now with Israel.
- ▪The leaked recording was made in mid-February during a Q&A with UK students in Washington and was recently published by the Financial Times.
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NewsUKUK PoliticsStarmer’s premiership ‘on the ropes’, says US ambassador in leaked recordingRemarks by Sir Christian Turner, who replaced Lord Mandelson – sacked over his links to Jeffrey Epstein – come to light as King Charles meets Donald Trump on US visitKate Devlin Whitehall Editor Tuesday 28 April 2026 17:55 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2966579","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-us-ambassador-christian-turner-mandelson-king-b2966579.html","title":"Starmer’s premiership ‘on the ropes’, says US…
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