Angela Rayner has told friends she is 'ready' to launch a leadership campaign, as Labour MPs warn that Keir Starmer's premiership is 'hanging by a thread'. The former deputy prime minister has amassed a £1million war chest and gave Sir Keir a bloody nose on Wednesday by leading a revolt against attempts to 'cover up' files on Peter Mandelson's disastrous US ambassador appointment.
In the wake of Wednesday's Commons vote, Ms Rayner told an MP who observed that the Prime Minister would have to resign: 'I will be ready.' Sir Keir issued a grovelling apology for the Mandelson scandal yesterday but insisted he would not bow to growing pressure to quit.
At an emergency press conference in Hastings, the rattled-looking PM said he was 'utterly disgusted' by revelations about Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and 'sorry' he had appointed him as ambassador to Washington DC. However, he insisted he would 'go on' despite mounting Labour fury.
Downing Street rejected calls from Labour MPs to sack chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who championed Mandelson's appointment. Seven Labour MPs directly called for Mr McSweeney to go, while numerous others called for a wider No10 clearout, and two said Sir Keir should resign.
Baroness Harman, a former Labour deputy leader, said Sir Keir looked 'weak and gullible' and that the scandal would 'finish' him off unless he could convincingly reset. She added: 'He's got to stop blaming Mandelson and saying, 'he lied to me'. Because actually he should never have been considering him in the first place.'
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, urged Labour MPs to back a vote of no confidence in Sir Keir. The PM was due to host Labour MPs at Chequers last night in an effort to win them round, but former frontbencher Andy McDonald said his premiership was 'hanging by a thread'.
