Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications has stepped down the day after the prime minister’s most senior aide quit.
Tim Allan, a former adviser to Sir Tony Blair, had only started at No 10 in September in a bid to steady the ship.
He is Sir Keir’s fourth head of communications since Labour won the election in July 2024.
Mr Allan 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.”
His departure comes less than 24 hours after Sir Keir’s right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, resigned over his role in appointing Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US after further links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.
The resignation of two of Sir Keir’s inner circle will prompt further calls for the prime minister to also go.
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Sir Keir will address Labour MPs at a meeting on Monday as he fights for his job.
Mr Allan was brought in to turn Number 10’s communication strategy around, more than 25 years after leaving Sir Tony’s Downing Street as his deputy press secretary.
Some inside Number 10 had resisted his appointment due to the communications company he founded, Portland, having taken on work to help improve the Kremlin’s image.
Towards the end of his most recent Downing Street tenure, Mr Allan angered journalists by getting rid of the daily afternoon meeting in which reporters quiz Number 10.
He also introduced social media influencers to PM events and visits, normally only open to traditional media.
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