Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from ministers and Labour MPs to dismiss his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, following an alleged orchestrated briefing campaign against the health secretary, Wes Streeting. The prime minister is understood to have told MPs he will not sack his most senior aide, despite demands for consequences over the row.
At a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Wednesday, Mr Starmer refused to act, with one MP saying he had "lost the dressing room". Labour's chair, Anna Turley, later told ITV that there would be an investigation into who had briefed against Mr Streeting, and that the prime minister would take action against the culprit—a commitment he had not made in his earlier exchanges with MPs.
Mr Starmer and Mr Streeting spoke briefly on Wednesday, the first contact since the row erupted. The prime minister is said to have apologised to the health secretary, though without making further commitments. A Downing Street source insisted there had been "no direct briefing against Wes from anyone", while one strategist suggested the intention was to warn Labour MPs about the dangers of a leadership contest rather than to target Mr Streeting specifically.
Mr Streeting, however, appeared emboldened, delivering a defiant media performance on Wednesday. He dismissed the briefing as "the most unjustified attack against the faithfuls since Joe Marler was banished in the final". The episode has led some MPs to believe it could strengthen any future leadership bid by the health secretary.
Cabinet sources said the campaign had "spectacularly backfired", with one minister stating: "I don't see how Morgan can survive when Keir has ended up in a weaker position than before." Another said "consensus is forming in cabinet he'll have to go". The trade minister Chris Bryant said aides should treat politics as a "team sport", adding: "It's a bit daft if you have someone in the coach's team hobbling one of the players before the match."
