Sir Keir Starmer has suffered another resignation from his Downing Street team after Paul Ovenden, the director of strategy, quit over sexually explicit comments made about Labour MP Diane Abbott in a private email eight years ago. The messages, first reported by the Mail, included a retelling of a game of 'shag, marry, kill' involving the 71-year-old veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, with graphic descriptions of sex acts.
The resignation is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Prime Minister, coming shortly after the sacking of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador over his friendship with financier Jeffrey Epstein, and the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. The turmoil has prompted some Labour MPs to put Starmer 'on notice', with questions raised about his use of patronage to shore up his position.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Conservative MP Danny Kruger has defected to Reform UK, declaring the Tory party 'is over' and that Nigel Farage is the 'new custodian' of conservatism. Former Tory minister Steve Baker described the defection as a 'major seismic event', warning it would have long-term aftershocks for the nation. Baker suggested Farage might ultimately seek an electoral pact with the Tories to avoid keeping Labour in power.
Downing Street has also condemned Elon Musk for using 'dangerous and inflammatory' language after he told a London protest crowd that 'violence is coming' and 'you either fight back or you die'. The comments have sparked a fierce response from the government.
