Sir Keir Starmer’s communications director quit on Monday to let a ‘new team’ take over in Number Ten.
Tim Allan – a former adviser to Sir Tony Blair – resigned after just five months in the job, becoming the second senior figure to depart in 24 hours.
He left his role after chief of staff Morgan McSweeney stood down for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Lord Mandelson US ambassador.
It means Sir Keir has lost his fourth communications director and second chief of staff, 19 months after winning a landslide.
Their departures have prompted questions about the future of National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, who also recommended Lord Mandelson.
Sir Tony Blair’s former chief of staff is said to have backed the disgraced New Labour architect for the role, raising questions about whether he should stay.
In his resignation speech, Mr McSweeney said that for those close to the process, the ‘only honourable course is to step aside’.
There are also suggestions that Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald could step down over concerns about his performance and delivery.
Mr Allan was appointed executive director of communications a week before Lord Mandelson was sacked last September.
However, there are concerns that compromising messages between the two New Labour veterans might emerge.
Announcing his departure, he said: ‘I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success.’
He later changed his WhatsApp picture to ‘Out of Office – Gone Golfing’.
The statement was released after Sir Keir addressed staff in Downing Street and vowed to continue in his role.
Unusually, the PM did not pay tribute to his communications chief or thank him for his service, so many were unaware that he had quit.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister did not deny that Mr Allan had been sacked and did not explain what he meant by allowing a ‘new team’ to be built.
Asked if this meant more resignations, the spokesman pointed to the appointment of Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson as acting chiefs of staff.
The spokesman was forced to reject suggestions from journalists that Downing Street is ‘in chaos’ due to the volume of staff who have departed since July 2024.
The Tories said that staff were fleeing like ‘rats abandoning the sinking ship that is Keir Starmer’s premiership’.
A New Labour veteran, Mr Allan began his political career as a researcher to Sir Tony in 1992 and later became deputy director of communications to Alastair Campbell.
He left in 1998 to become head of public relations for BskyB before setting up leading reputation management firm Portland in 2001. He sold his majority stake in 2012.
He returned to Downing Street more than 25 years after leaving Sir Tony’s government despite concerns over his work to help improve the Kremlin’s image.
His acts in the role included cancelling afternoon lobby meetings run by political journalists and inviting social media influencers to press conferences.
Previous holders of the post include Steph Driver, who quit in September after Mr Allan became her boss, James Lyons who left earlier that month and Matthew Doyle who resigned in March 2025.
Mr McSweeney succeeded Sue Gray, who left the role in October 2024, just months after Labour won the general election.
