Starmer holes up in No10 bunker amid deafening silence from his allies and Cabinet amid claims he’s set to ‘walk away’

Keir Starmer is on the brink today as Labor MPs demand he bow to them for his job, despite sacking his closest ally over the Mandelson scandal.

The Prime Minister holed up in Downing Street following a storm over his colleague’s appointment, as he claimed the scalp of US ambassador Morgan McSweeney.

MPs are warning Sir Keir that he must show he ‘understands’ the crisis and is ready to move left when he addresses a very heated meeting of the Parliamentary Party this evening.

However, there is speculation that the prime minister may choose to resign; The most senior cabinet ministers remain deathly silent.

Labor sources said Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden was ‘fucked’ when he was sent on television yesterday to defend Mr McSweeney, hours before his resignation.

Sir Keir does not currently have any public events planned for today and rumors that the No10 will address the nation have been dispelled.

Oddly, a British Airways flight simulator was set up outside number 10 this morning.

As UK politics descends into turmoil again today:

• The interest rate on 10-year bonds, the government’s main means of borrowing, rose nearly four basis points as investors feared chaos;
• Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald and national security adviser Jonathan Powell remain under intense pressure over Mandelson’s appointment;
• Downing Street is disappointed that the police have not yet signed off on the release of documents relating to Mandelson’s vetting process;
• Sir Keir is pushing for a new chief of staff following McSweeney’s departure, and his biographer Tom Baldwin is claimed to be keen on the job.

Strangely this morning a British Airways flight simulator was set up outside number 10.

Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith has been sent to make her case, insisting the Prime Minister is not on the verge of resigning. But he admitted he had not even spoken to Sir Keir in person.

Yesterday Mr McSweeney said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the decision to send his disgraced colleague to Washington despite knowing he stood by Jeffrey Epstein after the depraved financier was jailed for child sex crimes.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister and Mr McSweeney had jointly decided it was ‘the right moment’ for him to leave.

Sir Keir has the advantage that rivals such as Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham do not appear to be in a position to challenge for the leadership.

Ms Rayner has previously insisted that elections should be held if ruling parties change leaders mid-term.

But Labor MPs are openly speculating about how long Sir Keir can get by without the man who masterminded his rise to power and is seen as the ‘Prime Minister’s mastermind’.

Sir Keir had previously considered stepping down as Opposition leader after Labor lost the Hartlepool by-election at the height of Boris Johnson’s popularity.

Lady Smith rejected the idea that Sir Keir was considering resigning and said he was ‘determined’ to continue his agenda for change.

He told Times Radio: ‘No, I think the Prime Minister is absolutely determined. He is committed and has taken responsibility for the mistakes made during the appointment of Peter Mandelson.

‘He has apologized to Epstein’s victims and is now determined to fix the system that enabled this to happen.’

When told it was Mr McSweeney who claimed responsibility, he insisted Sir Keir had taken responsibility.

‘The Prime Minister takes responsibility. took responsibility for the decision made against Peter Mandelson; But to be clear here, Peter Mandelson’s constant lying and association with Jeffrey Epstein has disappointed the party, the government and the country.

‘And I think this will become clearer as information about the appointment becomes public.’

Mr McSweeney’s deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, were appointed joint chiefs of staff.

Some insiders expect the ‘smart and talented’ duo to stick around.

But Ed Miliband’s former communications chief, Mr Baldwin, who is known to be close to the Prime Minister, is also said to be in the frame. One Labor veteran said Sir Keir was ‘strangely in thrall’ to Mr Baldwin.

Another option to steady the ship would be Baroness Louise Casey, although she has already been tasked with an investigation into the care gang and a review of social care funding.

Meanwhile, feverish work continues on documents about Mandelson’s investigation and his ties to senior Labor figures.

Sir Keir was forced to commit to publishing a series of materials last week following a rebellion by MPs last week. He insisted that the details could show that he had been misled by Mandelson throughout the process and that there had been a failure in the process.

However, Scotland Yard has expressed concerns about releasing information while there is an ongoing criminal investigation.

Sir Keir’s allies are pessimistic about the chances of police approval today; One of them fears that if they give consent, it will come at the ‘worst moment’.

As leftists call on the Prime Minister to resign, former campaign chief Jon Trickett warns: ‘Responsibility ends at the top.’

Brian Leishman, Labor MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, added: ‘There has to be a change in political direction and it’s coming from the top.

‘Therefore the Prime Minister must look at his own position and question one last time whether he should follow McSweeney’s lead and resign for the good of the country and the Labor Party.’

Liverpool MP Kim Johnson said the Prime Minister’s position was ‘untenable’, while York MP Rachael Maskell described Mr McSweeney’s departure as ‘a start’.

‘If he doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation, I think it will be very difficult for him to move on,’ Ms Maskell told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.

Other Labor MPs on the left of the party, including Brian Leishman, Ian Byrne and Kim Johnson, suggested Sir Keir should consider following Mr McSweeney out the door.

Two Cabinet members told The Times Sir Keir was ‘weaker’ and could ‘stand down at any time’; but No10 said this was ‘categorically untrue’.

Union chiefs have also put pressure on the Labor leader, with Fire Brigades Association general secretary Steve Wright saying he should resign.

Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Labor Party’s Transport Salaried Staff Association, told The Telegraph: ‘Given the scale of defeat we face in these crucial elections, there is no need to wait until May. It’s time to elect a new leader.’

But Starmer’s ally John Slinger said ‘the last thing the country needs is leadership speculation’, while Labor’s leading candidate Lord Blunkett warned against ‘a party behaving like a poppy in a sack’.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden was ‘fucked’ when he went on television yesterday to defend Mr McSweeney hours before his resignation, Labor sources say

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir Starmer allowed his former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to ‘carry the can’ for a decision he chose to make.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘(The claim) ‘I took bad advice’ is not a good excuse for a leader. Advisors make recommendations, leaders make decisions. He made a bad decision, he should take responsibility for it… This man said he was the attorney general of the country, when did he start believing everything people told him?

‘Peter Mandelson was dismissed twice for unethical behavior. He lets someone else carry the box for a decision of his own choosing. But the real problem is that this country is not governed.’

He added: ‘Keir Starmer has promised a whiter Government. ‘His position is untenable at the moment because if he thinks bad advice is enough for Morgan McSweeney to leave, then yes, I think that makes his position untenable.’