Sir Keir Starmer could face a leadership challenge as early as the new year as Labour MPs claim the prime minister is now unable to sack his chief of staff because it would hasten his own departure.
In a bid to draw a line under the turmoil which has engulfed his government this week, Sir Keir insisted that he had been assured nobody in Downing Street was responsible for the briefing against his health secretary Wes Streeting.
The briefing, which is being blamed on chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, suggested that Mr Streeting was preparing to launch a leadership coup.
But even as the prime minister sought to end the row by apologising to Mr Streeting, calls for sackings continued to grow.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband, who has also been accused of being on manoeuvres to replace Sir Keir, repeated demands by Mr Streeting that the person responsible is sacked.
Mr Miliband, asked whether the prime minister should sack whoever is found to be responsible for the briefings, tolf the Today Programme: “Of course he should”.
Meanwhile, another minister said: “He should sack [McSweeney] but we all know he can’t. They are locked together in mutual survival.”
Others said Mr McSweeney was “probably unsackable”, but added that the prime minister “should be very worried”.
another set of briefings against his director of communications Tim Allan has suggested that a civil war has broken out in Downing Street among senior figures.
Mr McSweeney has been credited with getting Sir Keir elected as Labour leader to revive the party after the disastrous Jeremy Corbyn era and was also praised for winning the general election.
But concerns are growing about his influence in Downing Street, with one minister claiming that Mr McSweeney “basically did the reshuffle” after Angela Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary.
One MP said: “The question we all have now is whether a change of leader will improve things. We are averaging under 20 per cent in the polls, it could hardly be worse.”
Another MP noted: “We only need 20 per cent of MPs to nominate someone [to challenge Starmer]. That’s doable now.”
Meanwhile, one senior figure suggested that a challenge could come as early as January in a bid to retain some of the seats at risk in the May elections.
They said: “Lots of people are saying to me — why wait? Why not at least try and save thousands of councillors and some Welsh Senedd members and Scottish parliamentarians?”
John McTernan, a former strategist in the Blair government, said: “Before this happened everyone was kicking the question about a change of leader down the road but this week has forced the question. It has probably brought it all forward.
“The trouble is that the briefing had the authority of Number 10 whether the prime minister knew about it or not. So he either has no confidence in his health secretary which means he has to go, or he has to sack his chief of staff.”
In a withering attack, Alastair Campbell said public support for the prime minister was “draining away” fast, adding that the government had “no compelling narrative” and had scored “too many own goals”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Campbell said: “There are bigger, worse enemies – like Nigel Farage, who if we are not careful [is] going to come in and take over this country and take it to a very dark place.”
But speaking to reporters in Anglesey, Sir Keir insisted he will “absolutely deal with anybody responsible for briefing against ministers” following the bitter briefing war which erupted at the heart of government.
He said: “First, let me be clear that any briefing against ministers is completely unacceptable. That is not a new position for me, it is a position I have adopted ever since I became prime minister. I have made it very clear to my team.
“I have been talking to my team today. I have been assured that no briefing against ministers was done from No 10, but I have made it clear that I find it absolutely unacceptable.”
He added: “I have been assured it didn’t come from Downing Street, but I have been equally clear that whether it is this case or any other, I intend to deal with it.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street said that the PM has full confidence in Tim Allan, after calls for an investigation into his communications chief amid claims of a conflict of interest.
These centre on his shares in a lobbying company and reported discussions on politics with one of its consultants.
The Tories have called for a full Cabinet Office investigation, while the Lib Dems have also demanded a probe.
Labour says the allegation he has done anything to benefit Strand whilst in No 10 is “categorically false” and said any interactions with Tom Baldwin “are in his capacity as a journalist and have not related to Strand, its business or its clients.”
A Strand Partners spokesperson said Mr Baldwin, the PM’s biographer, was a journalist who “does not engage in government relations for Strand and this is not part of his terms of engagement with us.”
