Allies hope aide’s departure can quell anger over Mandelson scandal but others say it leaves PM dangerously exposed

• Profile: Labour election guru undone by poor judgment

• ‘Only honourable course’: resignation statement in full

Keir Starmer is fighting to reassert control over his party after accepting the resignation of his closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney, amid anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

After days of pressure over the scandal, his departing chief of staff said on Sunday he took “full responsibility” for his advice to send Mandelson to Washington despite his ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which McSweeney conceded had undermined trust in Labour and in politics itself.

Longtime aide has said he takes ‘full responsibility’ for advising PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador

• ‘Only honourable course’: resignation statement in full

• Profile: Labour election guru undone by poor judgment

• UK politics live – latest updates

Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has quit his role as the prime minister’s closest aide amid anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The senior No 10 adviser’s position had grown increasingly untenable as pressure on the prime minister mounted over the scandal, which followed the release of emails underlining the extent of Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

PM says Europe must ‘step up’ and signals he wants to work more closely with other states to build military capability

The UK should consider re-entering talks for a defence pact with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, arguing that Europe needs to “step up and do more” to defend itself in uncertain times.

The prime minister signalled that he wanted to work more collaboratively with other European countries to increase defence spending and build up military capability, and doing so through the EU’s scheme is one option available.

US president warns against closer ties with China during British PM’s trip to secure lower tariffs and better market access

Donald Trump has warned the UK against doing business with China, just hours after Keir Starmer lauded the economic relationship during a landmark visit to Beijing.

The US president said it was “very dangerous” for the UK to pursue closer ties with the rival superpower as the prime minister’s three-hour talks with Xi Jinping underlined a thaw in previously strained relations.

Prime minister says Reform seeking to ‘tear people apart’ after Gorton and Denton candidate questions whether all UK-born people are British

Keir Starmer has accused the Reform UK candidate in the Greater Manchester byelection of pursuing the politics of “toxic division” after he refused to disown his claim that UK-born people from minority ethnic backgrounds are not necessarily British.

The prime minister suggested that Matthew Goodwin, a hard-right activist, would try to “tear people apart” in Gorton and Denton, and that voters wanting to stop Nigel Farage’s party should coalesce around the Labour candidate.

Vow to bring ‘stability and clarity’ to the UK’s approach to Beijing on first visit by a British prime minister in eight years will be sorely tested

Keir Starmer has travelled to China with a vow to bring “stability and clarity” to the UK’s approach to Beijing after years of what he described as “inconsistency” under the Tories, but a series of issues may get in the way of his efforts to improve relations with the economic powerhouse.

Prime minister wants cabinet ministers to move on from policies that have tanked with voters

Before the 2015 UK election, the Australian political expert Lynton Crosby devised a strategy for the Tories that became known as “scraping the barnacles off the boat” – shedding unpopular policies that hindered the party’s electoral appeal.

Instead, the party focused on core issues it believed would help win over floating voters: the economy, welfare, the strength of David Cameron (and weakness of Ed Miliband) and immigration. Everything else was deprioritised and the Conservatives stuck to their messages rigidly. It worked.

Prime minister assures colleagues he may one day stand up to Donald Trump – but not yet

Keir Starmer has got used to walking a diplomatic tightrope with Donald Trump. But the US president’s Venezuelan adventure, whisking its leader out of the country after a late-night raid, has pushed that cautious approach to its limits.

The clues were all there. Ever since Trump confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela against drug traffickers – and blockaded oil tankers – the military campaign had been mounting.

Dissident was freed by Egypt after campaign by successive UK governments but offensive posts have surfaced

The decision by successive UK governments to campaign for the release and return of British-Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been called into question after past violent and offensive social media posts came to light.

The dissident’s historical remarks – in which he appeared to call for violence towards “Zionists” and the police – have prompted a widespread backlash since his return from detention in Egypt on Friday.

Imran Ahmed, an anti-disinformation advocate, claims he is being targeted for scrutinising social media companies

A British anti-disinformation campaigner close to Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after being told he could face deportation from the US in a row over freedom of speech.

Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a complaint against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal.

Exclusive: Blair-era minister echoes concerns about young people being priced out of jobs, in intervention likely to dismay Labour MPs

The future of the youth minimum wage will come under review as part of a major inquiry into rising inactivity among Britain’s young people by the former health secretary Alan Milburn.

The social mobility expert said that unless the government tackled some “uncomfortable truths” about the labour market there was a risk of creating a “lost generation” of young people.

Exclusive: Book to detail life from child poverty and teenage pregnancy to unions and Labour deputy leadership before fall from grace

Angela Rayner is writing a memoir about her rise to become deputy prime minister and her subsequent fall from grace, the Guardian can confirm, in a move that will be seen as an attempt to set the narrative ahead of any leadership contest.

The book, which will detail the Labour politician’s life story from her impoverished childhood and leaving school at 16 while pregnant through the union movement and the Labour party to the second highest office in the land, is to be published in the second half of 2026.

Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say

An agreement to rejoin Erasmus – the EU’s student exchange programme – is expected to be announced on Wednesday as part of the UK government’s drive towards closer relations with Brussels.

Final details of the announcement have now been agreed by the two sides, with a plan to allow UK students to participate in the EU-wide scheme without paying any additional fees from January 2027, sources said.

Exclusive: Culture secretary announces first national youth strategy in 15 years to help ‘vulnerable’ generation

Young people have faced “violent indifference” from the political establishment for decades, leaving them struggling to navigate a changing world, the culture secretary said as she announced the first national youth strategy in 15 years.

In an interview with the Guardian, Lisa Nandy said young people today were the most digitally connected but also the most isolated generation, adding that more could be done to police online spaces under new laws.

Exclusive: Chancellor says she made ‘fair and necessary choices’ in budget, and was unwilling to make cuts

Britain’s wealthy must shoulder the burden of paying to rebuild the UK’s “creaky” public services, Rachel Reeves has said, as she warned Labour MPs that leadership speculation was bad for the country.

The chancellor said she had opted to increase taxes by £26bn in this week’s budget to improve schools, hospitals and infrastructure, rejecting calls to “cut our cloth accordingly” after a downgrade in productivity forecasts.