Wes Streeting allies hit out at ‘stupid’ briefings against him amid sacking rumours

Allies of Wes Streeting have called for unity within the government after reports emerged that Cabinet ministers had called on the Prime Minister to sack the Health Secretary.

Accordingly Times, Senior figures are pressing for Mr Streeting to be sacked, claiming he has an “open mind” in his public comments.

This internal pressure is understood to stem from a briefing war that began in Downing Street, targeting Mr Streeting over his ambitions to replace Sir Keir as Prime Minister.

A spokesman for the Health Secretary described the timing of the latest briefing against him as “incredibly stupid”, noting that it came as Reform UK and the Conservatives competed for supremacy on the political right.

The spokesman said: “It’s a real shame that Keir’s so-called allies are once again briefing against Wes when they should be talking about the second biggest drop in waiting lists in 15 years and ambulances arriving 15 minutes faster than Labour.

“Given that Reform and the Conservatives are currently at each other’s throats, this briefing is also incredibly stupid.

“Wes is driving real change in the NHS and making the case for Keir and Labor there.”

Accordingly TimesSir Keir should learn from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who this week abruptly sacked shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick before Nigel Farage joined Reform UK, a Cabinet minister has suggested.

They told the paper that Mr Streeting had “undermined all of us” in the Government and claimed he had “repeatedly breached collective responsibility”.

Two more people talking Times He appeared convinced that Mr Streeting was maneuvering to become prime minister.

According to the newspaper, one of them said: “Wes is the same 18-year-old… If he doesn’t become Labor prime minister he will tell himself his whole life has been a failure. Everything he does now is towards that end.”

But a No 10 source told The Times that Mr Streeting was “doing a fantastic job as health secretary” and was a “key player in the team”.

Mr Streeting has previously expressed concerns about the Government’s direction and spoke of a “toxic culture” at No 10 when the briefing against him was made public in November.

He also raised concerns at a conference on Tuesday this week, saying ministers should set New Year’s resolutions to “get it right first time” amid a series of U-turns from the Government.