Paul Ovenden, a senior Downing Street aide and close ally of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, resigned abruptly on September 15, 2025, after sexually explicit messages he sent in 2017 about Labour MP Diane Abbott were made public. The revelation has sparked a fresh wave of turmoil for the Labour government, already reeling from a string of high-profile resignations and internal scandals, according to reports from The Telegraph and Evening Standard.
Ovenden, who served as Number 10’s Director of Strategy since January, was a key figure in Starmer’s inner circle and had previously held roles as deputy director of communications and director of attack and rebuttal for the Labour Party. His career began in journalism at the Sunday Telegraph and Sky before he joined Labour as a press officer under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in 2014. Ovenden’s resignation follows the leak of a cache of internal Labour emails from 2020, which exposed not only the explicit messages but also a broader culture of infighting and backroom plotting against Corbyn’s leadership.
The leaked messages, first obtained by ITV News, detailed a "shag, marry, kill" game in which Ovenden recounted overhearing two female staff members making lurid sexual comments about Diane Abbott, then the shadow home secretary. At the time, Ovenden was a junior press officer for Labour. He left politics later that year for a stint in communications consultancy, only to return to the party in 2020 and rise rapidly through the ranks.
In a statement to ITV News, Ovenden said, “I am accused of eight years ago as a junior press officer sharing with a female colleague the details of a silly conversation that I was party to with other female staff members. Though the messages long pre-date my current employment and relationship with the Prime Minister, I’ve brought forward my resignation to avoid distracting from the vital work this Government is doing to positively change people’s lives. As an adviser, my duty is to protect the reputation of the Prime Minister and his Government. While it is chilling that a private conversation from nearly a decade ago can do this sort of damage, I am also truly, deeply sorry for it and the hurt it will cause.”
Downing Street responded swiftly to the scandal. A spokesperson for No 10 condemned the messages as “appalling and unacceptable,” emphasizing Abbott’s historic role as the first Black woman elected to Parliament and the abuse she has endured throughout her career. “These kinds of comments have no place in our politics,” the spokesperson added, as reported by Evening Standard.
The fallout from Ovenden’s resignation has intensified scrutiny on Starmer’s leadership, already under pressure from recent political upheaval. Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister, stepped down earlier this month after revelations she underpaid stamp duty on her Hove flat. Lord Peter Mandelson, once a prominent Labour figure and recently appointed British Ambassador to the US, was abruptly fired last week after emails revealed a closer-than-admitted relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer admitted on September 15 that he would never have appointed Mandelson had he known the full extent of his Epstein ties, telling broadcasters, “Had I known then what I know now, I’d have never appointed him.”
The Labour Party’s internal strife is further compounded by its declining fortunes in public opinion polls. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has overtaken Labour in several surveys, and the party has lost multiple council by-elections since Starmer assumed the premiership in July 2024. The mood among Labour MPs is described as grim, with many bracing for poor results in the set of elections scheduled for May 2026, including key contests in Scotland and Wales.
Diane Abbott herself, who has been suspended from the Labour Party twice under Starmer’s leadership—most recently in July 2025 following controversial comments about racism—was blunt in her assessment of the party’s prospects. Speaking to Times Radio before Ovenden’s resignation, she remarked, “I don’t want to say that we should have a new leader tomorrow, but we know there are going to be a big set of elections in May, including Scotland and Wales. And we know that everybody is saying, not least Scottish and Welsh MPs, that we’re going to do badly in them. And I think if we do as badly as people say, well, it will be the case then that Starmer’s future as Labour leader and Labour prime minister will be over, really.”
Abbott’s most recent suspension came after she argued there was a distinction between racism based on skin color and other forms, stating, “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism. Because you can see a traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re in a meeting with them. But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black.” She later claimed, “It was obvious this Labour leadership wants me out.”
The wider political fallout has been swift and brutal. Matt Vickers, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, declared, “Day by day, scandal by scandal. Keir Starmer’s Labour Government is imploding.” Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, now aligned with Jeremy Corbyn, criticized the culture within Starmer’s team: “Everyone knows about the macho boys’ club Starmer surrounds himself with. So it’s no surprise to see vile, misogynistic comments from one of his top aides. This Labour Government is rotten to the core.” Mish Rahman, an anti-racism campaigner and former member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, described Ovenden’s comments as “vile and grotesque,” and pointed to a pattern of targeting women of color on the party’s left.
Yet, not all voices within government circles agree with Ovenden’s departure. Some sources praised his intellect and leadership, calling him “one of the best minds of a generation” and “one of the most supportive colleagues.” Others questioned whether Starmer should have accepted the resignation, noting that the messages were historic and that Ovenden was recounting a conversation he had overheard rather than initiating it.
The Prime Minister’s office, meanwhile, has undergone a significant reshuffle since September 1, 2025, with Darren Jones brought in as chief secretary and James Lyons departing as communications director. The shake-up is seen as part of a broader effort to reset the government’s direction amid mounting crises.
As Labour grapples with internal dissent, public criticism, and a string of damaging revelations, the resignation of Paul Ovenden stands as both a symptom and a symbol of the party’s current predicament. With elections looming and confidence in the leadership wavering, the coming months are likely to prove decisive for Starmer’s government and its prospects for recovery.
For now, the party faces the difficult task of restoring public trust and unity in the face of scandal, as it seeks to turn the page on a turbulent chapter in its history.
