Ed Miliband Urges Labour to Look Ahead After Starmer Apologises to Wes Streeting for Aggressive Media Leaks
Senior Labour figure Ed Miliband has urged the party to leave behind internal tensions after leader Sir Keir Starmer directly expressed regret to Health Secretary Wes Streeting over hostile briefings linked to Downing Street.
Major Updates
- Miliband confirms the Prime Minister will dismiss the Downing Street staffer behind for targeting Streeting if found
- The Energy Secretary rules out future leadership ambitions, stating his previous experience as Labour leader was the "most effective protection" against seeking the role again
- UK economy increased by just 0.1% in the July-September period, affected by the Jaguar Land Rover security breach
Situation
The political controversy began after media stories surfaced about critical briefings from the Prime Minister's team targeting the Health Secretary. Despite initial efforts to downplay the situation, the discussion between Starmer and Streeting according to sources followed a different turn.
The Prime Minister apologised to Wes Streeting, the media have been told. The discussion was short, and they did not discuss Morgan McSweeney, whom Starmer is now under pressure to remove.
Miliband's Response
In his early morning broadcast interviews, Ed Miliband stressed the need for the party to concentrate on country-wide matters rather than internal disputes.
Clearly, I think the backgrounding has been bad, without doubt.
But my call to the Labour party now is straightforward, which is we need to focus on the nation, not ourselves.
We were given a major mandate last July, a important opportunity to transform our nation. And we have a major obligation.
Growth Update
In other news, government figures indicated the UK economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector especially impacted by the recently reported Jaguar Land Rover security incident.
The Day's Schedule
- 9.30am: The National Health Service publishes its monthly data
- Morning: The Health Secretary is visiting the Liverpool area
- Morning: The Chancellor makes comments to the journalists
- 11.30am: Number 10 holds its daily lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer highlights government plans for the Britain's first small modular reactor project at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey
