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A political crisis erupted within the Labour Party after late-night briefings from Downing Street attacked Health Secretary Wes Streeting, prompting Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to condemn such actions as "completely unacceptable". The internal turmoil, described by some as a "civil war", emerged just two weeks before the government's Budget announcement.
Streeting vehemently denied allegations he was plotting to oust Starmer. Speaking to Sky News, he dismissed the claims: «This is just about the worst attack on a faithful I've seen since Joe Marler was kicked out and banished in the final. It's totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it's not true and I don't understand how anyone thinks it's helpful to the Prime Minister either.» He called for those responsible for the briefings to be sacked, describing their actions as evidence of a "toxic culture" within Number 10.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Starmer defended his Health Secretary, stating Streeting was doing a «great job» with the NHS. He declared: «any attack on any member of my Cabinet is completely unacceptable.» The Prime Minister also expressed full confidence in his Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney and insisted he had never authorized attacks on Cabinet members.
Internal Party Tensions
The briefings reportedly identified Streeting as a potential leadership challenger, along with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Under Labour rules, a leadership challenge requires support from 20 per cent of Labour MPs - currently 80 nominations. Jo White, chairwoman of the Red Wall group of Labour MPs, denied her group's involvement and attributed the rumors to «a group of people who think they're much cleverer than the rest of us, who spend their time selectively briefing journalists and stirring the pot».
Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that some around the Prime Minister «do not follow his model and style of leadership». He added: «I do think that trying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out, not just making the case for the Government, but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour.» The Liberal Democrats warned the political turmoil was "incredibly damaging" for markets and investors ahead of the crucial Budget.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
