Starmer on ropes as another aide leaves Downing Street

PM says he is not prepared to 'walk away' despite calls to go

- DAVID MADDOX KATE DEVLIN MILLIE COOKE

Sir Keir Starmer is clinging on to power with the support of key cabinet figures - even after being rocked by the departure of a second key aide, and a public demand for his resignation from Labour’s own leader in Scotland. The prime minister was supported by colleagues, including his former deputy Angela Rayner, as the previously loyal Anas Sarwar urged him to step down over the Mandelson-Epstein scandal, saying he had made “too many mistakes”.

On a day of drama, the PM was also hit by the resignation of Downing Street director of communications Tim Allan, less than 24 hours after chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned. But Sir Keir insisted: “I am going nowhere.”

Later, a “determined” Sir Keir told Labour MPs and peers he was not prepared to “walk away” or plunge the country “into chaos” as other prime ministers had done. But he was in effect put on notice when health secretary Wes Streeting, seen by many as angling for Sir Keir’s job, published communications between himself and Mr Mandelson containing severe criticism of Sir Keir’s economic and Middle East policies.

The publication broke collective responsibility and would normally lead to a sacking, but Mr Streeting justified it by saying it was necessary to deal with with “smears” that had been made about his relationship with the disgraced former Labour peer.