Sir Keir Starmer insists 'I will never walk away' amid leadership speculation
A defiant Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will “never walk away” after coming under intense pressure to quit as Prime Minister.
In his first public comments since Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar called for him to quit, Sir Keir hit out at infighting within the party and insisted he would lead it into the next general election.
Speaking at an event in Hertfordshire this afternoon, the Prime Minister said the political “turmoil” would not stop him focusing on tackling cost-of-living pressures and improving opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He said: “I am their Prime Minister, and this is their Government and I will never give up on that fight.
“There are some people in recent days who say the Labour Government should have a different part, a fight with itself, instead of a fight for the millions of people who need us to fight for them.
“And I say to them: I will never walk away from the mandate I was given to change this country.
“I will never walk away from the people that I’m charged with fighting for and I will never walk away from the country that I love.”
The Prime Minister’s position is in jeopardy over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Met Police have launched a criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson over allegations he leaked market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary, while he also described Epstein’s release from jail as “liberation day”. He has denied his actions were a crime.
This morning, Ed Miliband told his Cabinet colleague Wes Streeting, who is reportedly angling to succeed Sir Keir: “Let’s just move past all this.”
Mr Streeting, the Health Secretary, is seen as one of the potential leadership candidates, alongside former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
On Monday night, Mr Streeting published his messages with Lord Peter Mandelson, dated from August 2024 to October 2025, as he sought to distance himself from the peer.
Some sources suggested that this was the Health Secretary clearing the decks for a leadership bid.
When asked about this, Mr Miliband told Sky News that his message was: “Move on dot org.
“I mean, let’s just get on. Let’s just move past all this.
“Come on, I’m saying to our colleagues - don’t focus on yourselves. Focus on the country. That’s what Keir’s message was last night and he’s dead right.”
Ministers not to follow Mr Streeting’s lead in publishing their messages with Lord Mandelson, after the Met Police warned it could prejudice their investigation into the peer.
In a message to officials, the Cabinet Office is understood to have said members of Government should not share material that could be covered by a Commons motion forcing the release of documents relating to the peer’s appointment as US ambassador.
Scotland Yard warned that it was “vital due process is followed” so as not to jeopardise its probe following accusations the peer passed market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein in the 2000s.
Among the published exchanges were concerns expressed by Mr Streeting that the Government had “no growth strategy” and that he would be “toast” at the next general election.
Asked about those comments, Sir Keir insisted that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was “turning the economy around”.
Asked if he had told Mr Streeting off for releasing his own messages unilaterally, Sir Keir said: “I do think that we all need to ensure that we’re all acting together in this, because all the information needs to be pulled together.”
In a statement on Tuesday, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “An investigation into alleged misconduct in public office is under way and it is vital due process is followed so that our criminal investigation and any potential prosecution is not compromised.
“As part of our inquiries, we will review material identified and provided to us by the Cabinet Office to assess whether publication is likely to have a detrimental impact on our investigation or any subsequent prosecution.
“We will work alongside the Cabinet Office to review relevant documents over the weeks ahead. The process to decide which documents should ultimately be published remains a matter for Government and Parliament.
“As we have stated previously, this investigation may be complex but we are focused on a timely and thorough process so that justice is served in this case, or future ones linked to the Epstein files.”
The Health Secretary’s association with Lord Mandelson has been regarded by some in Westminster as a possible hurdle should he seek to succeed Sir Keir as Labour leader as he continues to attract speculation about his ambitions.
He told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast he had shared the messages after “smear and innuendo” which suggested he had something to hide emerged over the weekend, when a briefing war broke out between his allies and those of Ms Rayner.
Asked whether Mr Streeting had checked with the Prime Minister before publishing them by The Yorkshire Post, Sir Keir’s official spokesman told reporters that the Government was “cooperating fully with the Met investigation”.
Pressed on whether the Health Secretary had followed the correct process, he said: “I’m not going to comment on the Health Secretary’s disclosure of those messages, that’s for him.”