UK health secretary Wes Streeting has called for the prime minister Keir Starmer to sack the people behind “self-defeating” rumours about a Labour leadership challenge.
The health secretary categorically denied that he was plotting to oust Mr Starmer, comparing suggestions he would do so to conspiracy theories.
His comments follow a flurry of late-night briefing from within Number 10 in which allies of the prime minister came out fighting on his behalf, amid fears his job could be under threat after the budget in two weeks’ time.
In a series of broadcast interviews on Wednesday, Mr Streeting attacked whoever was responsible for the rumours, suggesting they had been “watching too much Celebrity Traitors”.
He told Sky News: “This is just about the worst attack on a faithful I’ve seen since Joe Marler was kicked out and banished in the final.
“It’s totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it’s not true and I don’t understand how anyone thinks it’s helpful to the prime minister either.”
And he called for Mr Starmer to dismiss whoever was responsible for the briefing, if he could find them, telling the BBC’s Today programme they did not follow the prime minister’s “model and style of leadership”.
The late-night briefing came as part of a ploy to put down several senior Labour figures, who were said to be “on manoeuvres” to supplant Keir, according to media reports.
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Downing Street has singled out the health secretary to ward off other potential leadership challenges from senior Labour figures including home secretary Shabana Mahmood and energy secretary Ed Miliband, the reports said.
But another No 10 insider meanwhile praised Mr Streeting as a brilliant health secretary, and insisted the reports were all hypothetical speculation.
Mr Streeting said the briefings had “vindicated” calls from Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell for a change in “culture” in Downing Street.
He told Sky News: “I do think that going out and calling your Labour MPs feral is not very helpful.
“I do think that trying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out, not just making the case for the government, but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour.”
Mr Streeting’s criticism of the culture within No 10 is likely to focus fresh attention of the prime minister’s long-time ally and chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
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Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the “red wall” group of Labour MPs, Jo White, also denied that Mr Streeting was angling to replace Mr Starmer, telling the Today programme: “I’m not aware of a single person in the red wall group who’s involved in this.”
Ms White, a backbench MP, blamed the rumours on “a group of people who think they’re much cleverer than the rest of us, who spend their time selectively briefing journalists and stirring the pot”.
Challengers for the Labour leadership can initiate an election with the support of 20 per cent of the party’s MPs, which currently means 80 nominations would be needed.
Labour affiliates, including the trade unions, would be able to vote in the ballot alongside individual members.
The political turmoil appeared to have unsettled the financial City, with yields on 10-year-gilts, which move counter to the price of the bonds, rising by four basis points to 4.43 per cent in early trading.
The yield on the longer-term 30-year-gilt also rose by a similar amount to 5.22 per cent.
The pound stood 0.2 per cent lower, at $1.31USD and was 0.2 per cent weaker at €1.13. – Press Association
