Starmer won’t quit, says minister as PM faces fury of Labour MPs over Mandelson scandal

A senior minister denied Sir Keir Starmer is on the brink of resigning and issued a desperate plea to Labour MPs not to try to topple him.

But Skills Minister Baroness Smith denied reports that Sir Keir was about to stand down, stressing that he wanted to focus on issues such as improving the NHS, easing the cost-of-living crisis and tackling violence against women.

“One of the mistakes of previous governments, that it’s pretty important that this Labour government doesn’t fall into, is the sort of focus on infighting, believing that constant changing of leaders is going to solve some of the very difficult problems that this country and in fact, the world faces,” she told Times Radio.

“That I think would be a mistake, and I hope that my colleagues don’t pursue that particular route.”

Amid reports that Sir Keir had considered quitting over the Mandelson scandal, the minister insisted that the PM was determined to stay in No10 to “continue to lead” the change that Labour pledged to voters in its election manifesto.

“The last thing that the country or the party could do with at the moment is a lengthy leadership campaign,” she stressed on Sky News.

The minister, though, admitted she had not spoken directly to Sir Keir amid rumours that he was considering resigning as he was so rocked by his blunder over appointing Lord Mandelson as British ambassador to the US.

“I don’ t believe he will, I don’t think he should,” she told BBC radio.

But scrutiny of Sir Keir’s own judgment is mounting as critics, including some of his MPs, have highlighted that he made the final decision.

Sir Keir believes the files will prove the former Labour grandee lied about the extent of his ties to the notorious paedophile Epstein during his vetting.

The Guardian, citing a well-placed source, said they would show the Cabinet Office had warned about the grave reputational risk of handing Lord Mandelson the ambassadorship.

Sir Keir and Mr McSweeney, blamed by many for pushing for his ally Lord Mandelson to get the coveted ambassadorship, mutually came to the decision that it was the right moment for a new chief-of-staff, it is understood.

The Prime Minister credited his longtime adviser’s “dedication, loyalty and leadership” for Labour’s 2024 general election win and said he owed him a “debt of gratitude” in a statement that did not mention the Lord Mandelson fiasco.

Mr McSweeney’s deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, have been appointed joint acting chiefs of staff.

Two unnamed Cabinet ministers were quoted by The Times as saying Sir Keir was “weaker” and “could stand down at any moment”, a claim No 10 said was “categorically untrue”.

Union chiefs also heaped pressure on the Labour leader, with Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright saying he should resign.

Sir Keir was also expected to speak to the women’s PLP after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and make on-camera interventions this week.

He and Mr McSweeney have pinned blame on vetting by the security services for failing to disprove Lord Mandelson’s claims that he barely knew the late financier, which were later dramatically debunked by disclosures in the so-called Epstein files.