Prime Minister Keir Starmer 'didn't authorise attacks on Cabinet members' amid leadership row

The Prime Minister has said he has never authorised attacks on his Cabinet members amid ongoing rumours of plots to oust him as leader.

Keir Starmer was forced to answer questions about his leadership in the Commons on Wednesday amid claims of a “toxic culture” in Number 10.

On Tuesday evening, allies of the Prime Minister told several news outlets his job might be in jeopardy after the budget in two weeks’ time.

The flurry of late-night briefings from Number 10 warned that any attempt to oust the Prime Minister over tanking poll ratings would be a “reckless” and “dangerous” move that could destabilise the markets, international relationships, and the Labour party.

They were particularly suspicious of Wes Streeting’s leadership ambitions.

However, Streeting categorically ruled out a bid to challenge the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning, describing rumours as “unhelpful” and “self-defeating”.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said any attack on any member of his Cabinet is “absolutely unacceptable”.

‘Toxic culture’ claims

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked Starmer if Streeting was right when he said there was a “toxic culture in Downing Street that needs to change”.

Starmer replied: “My focus each and every day is on rebuilding and renewing our country. But let me be absolutely clear, any attack on any member of my cabinet is completely unacceptable.”

Badenoch insisted that the attacks came from Starmer’s “toxic Number 10”, and she said the person responsible for the culture there is his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.

Starmer didn’t explicitly give his full confidence to McSweeney, but he said his chief of staff and his team are “absolutely focused on delivering for the country”.

“Let me be clear, of course, I’ve never authorised attacks on cabinet members, I appointed them to their post because they’re the best people to carry out their jobs,” the Prime Minister said.

He also backed Streeting, telling MPs: “Waiting lists are down under this Government. The number of GPs is up, because we scrapped NHS England, we’re investing on the front line, that’s what the health secretary is doing today, getting on with his job, and he’s doing a very good job too.”

Piggy-backing on Starmer’s statement, Badenoch accused the Prime Minister of losing control of Number 10, following the briefings against Streeting.

“He says these attacks aren’t authorised – that means he’s lost control of Number 10, because that’s where they’re coming from,” Badenoch said.

“The real scandal is that two weeks from a budget, the Government has descended into a civil war, instead of fixing the economy, the mess they’ve made of the economy.”

‘Internal dissent within party’

John Swinney separately slammed the Labour Party as being “riven with internal dissent”.

The First Minister said on Wednesday that people in Scotland will be “taken aback” by the internal wrangling at the top of the UK Government.

“I think Keir Starmer has demonstrated very poor judgment since he became Prime Minister,” Swinney told STV News.

“One of his first acts was to remove winter fuel payments for pensioners. What Labour Prime Minister would have thought that was a good idea? It’s just beyond me that he could have thought that was OK.”

Swinney said Starmer’s leadership on addressing issues such as poverty and economic opportunity – as well as his leadership on Gaza – has been “woeful”.

“I think the Prime Minister is a fundamentally weak figure, and I made it clear that I don’t expect him to be Prime Minister for very long,” the First Minister said.

“He certainly won’t be Prime Minister for long if the SNP win a majority at the elections next May, and the Labour Party now seems to be realising that he’s not going to be Prime Minister for very long. That demonstrates how weak the Labour Party is as we face major challenges as a society.”