Struggling UK Premiership suffers another setback with the departure of Prime Minister Starmer's chief advisor
In a surprising turn of events, Paul Ovenden, a close ally of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, has resigned from his position as the director of strategy at No. 10. The resignation comes at a challenging time for Starmer, as two senior members of his government, including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, have recently quit.
Ovenden's resignation was due to sexually explicit emails he sent about a prominent left-wing MP, Diane Abbott, in 2017. The emails were revealed by ITV News on Monday. In his statement to ITV News, Ovenden admitted to sharing details of a conversation about Diane Abbott with a female colleague eight years ago.
However, it is important to note that the resignation of Paul Ovenden is not related to any policy or political disagreements. Ovenden stated that he had already been planning to resign, but brought it forward to avoid further distractions to Starmer's leadership. He also mentioned that his decision was aimed at not distracting from the work the government is doing to positively change people's lives.
In a separate incident, Angela Rayner's resignation forced Keir Starmer to reshuffle his Cabinet two weeks ago, following the discovery of her underpaying £40,000 in property tax on her home in Brighton.
Paul Ovenden was a key figure in Keir Starmer's top team, helping the prime minister to make Labour electable again after 14 years in opposition. His departure leaves a significant gap in Starmer's inner circle, particularly given his role in shaping the party's strategy.
This news comes at a time when Keir Starmer is facing intense scrutiny due to the revelations concerning the friendship between Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The story involving Paul Ovenden's resignation, however, involves a former staff member and eight-year-old messages that pre-date Ovenden's employment in government.
The No. 10 spokesperson did not comment further on the matter, stating that the story involves a former staff member and messages from eight years ago. A former colleague of Ovenden, meanwhile, stated that advisers hope he will continue to be leant on by the PM before too long.
This article was contributed to by Emilio Casalicchio.
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