Starmer: Majority of Labour MPs Support His Leadership

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated in an interview that the vast majority of Labour MPs support him and want him to continue in his role. He made the remarks to the Sunday Times following a week of increased speculation about a potential leadership challenge within the Labour Party.

Starmer said that in politics, such talk occurs frequently, and emphasized that supportive MPs focus on their work rather than speaking to journalists.

home secretary Chris Philp stated that the prime minister should resign over the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US. Philp added that if the prime minister does not step down, Labour MPs should remove him, describing it as in the national interest.

He noted that some ministers were equivocating on the prime minister's future and that a couple of MPs had publicly called for his departure.

The prime minister has faced calls to resign from opposition parties and criticism from within his own party after UK security officials flagged concerns about vetting clearance for Lord Mandelson. Starmer told MPs that security officials recommended against granting approval, but this information was not passed to him.

He stated he did not regret sacking Sir Olly Robbins, the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, for not informing him about the concerns.

“When there's a double red flag not to give clearance and [showing] high concern, then I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But I do not accept the argument that that is something which should not be told to the prime minister," Sir Keir Starmer said.”