British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from a wide range of ministers and MPs to sack his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney after he was accused of spreading information that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting against the Prime Minister to remove him from office.
Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer's most senior aide, has incurred the wrath of the Prime Minister's inner circle. Keir Starmer has ordered an investigation into leaks into the source of the allegations against Streeting and has promised to "take action" against those responsible, Labour leader Anna Turley told ITV on Wednesday night.
However, Streeting's allies believe that Starmer was aware of McSweeney's briefings that his Downing Street team was "out of touch with reality". Some in the cabinet now believe he has no choice but to sack McSweeney, who strongly denied criticising Streeting to the media on Tuesday.
A source at 10 Downing Street told the Guardian that despite Starmer saying that Streeting was a highly valued and effective minister and that he had never ordered his smear campaign, the prime minister's anger at the minister had not yet subsided. According to another source, the prime minister is frustrated that the health minister has opposed the government's approach on a number of issues, including social benefits, digital ID cards and Gaza policy.
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Nov 13, 2025 05:49 181