Ed Miliband Urges the Labour Party to Move On Following Keir Starmer Apologises to Wes Streeting for Aggressive Media Leaks
Senior Labour Party figure Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for the party to put aside party disputes after PM Keir Starmer personally apologised to health minister Wes Streeting over hostile briefings originating from the Prime Minister's office.
Key Developments
- Ed Miliband confirms Starmer will dismiss the Downing Street staffer responsible for targeting Streeting if discovered
- The Energy Secretary dismisses any leadership ambitions, saying his past time as leader was the "strongest vaccine" against seeking the position again
- British economic growth expanded by just 0.1% in the July-September period, affected by the Jaguar Land Rover hack
Background
The internal controversy began after reports circulated about critical background comments from the Prime Minister's allies targeting the Health Secretary. Despite early attempts to dismiss the matter, the conversation between Starmer and the health minister reportedly took a different turn.
The Prime Minister said sorry to Streeting, journalists have been told. The exchange was concise, and they did not talk about the chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under growing pressure to sack.
The Energy Secretary's Statement
In his early morning media appearances, Miliband highlighted the need for the party to direct attention on country-wide matters rather than internal disputes.
Clearly, I think the briefing has been bad, certainly.
But my message to the Labour members now is quite simple, which is we need to focus on the public, not our internal matters.
We were given a historic election win last summer, a important opportunity to improve our country. And we have a historic obligation.
Economic News
In other news, official statistics indicated the British economic performance expanded by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the production sector especially hit by the recent JLR cyber-attack.
Today's Agenda
- 9.30am: NHS England releases its monthly statistics
- Today: Wes Streeting is visiting Liverpool
- Morning: Rachel Reeves speaks to the press
- 11.30am: Number 10 holds its daily lobby briefing
- Morning: The Prime Minister promotes government plans for the UK's pioneering nuclear power plant at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey
