Starmer blow as closest adviser calls him an 'HR manager, not a leader'

SIR Keir Starmer was dealt a hammer blow yesterday after it was claimed his closest adviser had described him as an "HR manager, not a leader".

- Christian Calgie

Downing Street Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney is alleged to have blasted his boss in claims made in an explosive new tell-all book.

Mr McSweeney, Sir Keir's political right-hand man of many years, is also said to have confided in his friends that he "knew neither what Starmer thought, nor whose advice he had taken".

Another close adviser reportedly said: "Keir Starmer thinks he's driving the train, but we've sat him at the front of the DLR", a reference to the driverless Docklands Light Railway in East London.

The book by journalists Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund, entitled Get In, looks at Sir Keir's time as leader of the opposition. It is set to reveal that the PM's closest aides, advisers and confidants spent years condemning his lack of leadership skills. Even Sir Tony Blair is reported as telling a friend in 2021: "He's basically a London human rights lawyer who's not in touch with the people.