Overview
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting categorically denied any plan to oust Keir Starmer and urged the prime minister to sack whoever briefed against him, calling the claims self‑defeating.
- Keir Starmer told Parliament he never authorised attacks on ministers, described any such briefings as completely unacceptable, and publicly praised Streeting’s work on the NHS.
- Late‑night anonymous briefings from figures around No 10 said Starmer would fight any leadership challenge and cited Streeting and Shabana Mahmood as potential successors, reports said.
- UK government bonds underperformed and the pound dipped slightly after the briefing row, with strategists linking the moves to investor nerves over possible political instability.
- No formal contest has been triggered under Labour rules that require roughly 80 MPs to nominate a challenger, though attention has turned to a Budget expected to include politically risky tax rises.