Keir Starmer latest LIVE: Angela Rayner joins Cabinet in rallying around PM after Scottish Labour leader urges him to quit

Anas Sarwar calling on Starmer to resign came as a fresh bresh blow to the embattled Prime Minister after a second key ally quit

Mr Sarwar made the call at an emergency news conference in Glasgow on Monday afternoon.

This lunchtime No10 said he will not resign and will be “concentrating on the job at hand”, amid the fallout of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

But senior Cabinet figures soon rallied around the embattled Prime Minister, along with Angela Rayner, who has been talked of as a successor should he go.

The mounting pressure on the PM came after a second key aide of Starmer, communications chief Tim Allan, quit on Monday morning, just a day after the resignation of Morgan McSweeney.

A spokesperson for the PM insisted that Sir Keir was “upbeat” and “confident”, despite his premiership being plunged into unprecedented crisis.

Continued revelations from the Epstein files has piled pressure on No10, with growing anger among Labour MPs around the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.

The Prime Minister is expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party later on Monday amid anger over his appointment of Lord Mandelson, despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier's conviction for child sex offences.

Follow the latest updates below…

William and Kate ‘deeply concerned’ about Andrew's Epstein links as royals address scandal for first time Morgan McSweeney resigns as Starmer’s chief of staff following Mandelson controversy Andrew shared confidential trade information with Epstein while envoy, files indicate Live updates

15 minutes agoStarmer leaves Downing Street to address Labour MPs Sir Keir Starmer is expected to address Labour MPs within the next few minutes as he seeks to bolster support for his leadership.

He has just been seen leaving Downing Street in a car, which was expected to drive him to Parliament where he will then talk to the parliamentary Labour party.

Scores of Labour MPs and peers have packed into a Commons committee room where Sir Keir will address them as he fights for his political future.

Dozens of reporters gathered outside the room deep in the Palace of Westminster as security staff guarded the door.

19 minutes agoSarwar branded 'opportunist' after calling for Starmer to step down Scotland’s First Minister has branded Anas Sarwar “an opportunist” after he called for the Prime Minister to step down.

Speaking to the Press Association at his official residence at Bute House, the John Swinney said: “For years, he has been a cheerleader for Keir Starmer and he’s described himself as an old friend of Peter Mandelson, without a moment’s thought for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

“And now he suddenly wants us to believe that Keir Starmer should move on, having defended all of the terrible decisions that Keir Starmer has made.”

He added: “What today tells us is that Anas Sarwar is an opportunist, and that he’s prepared to use every opportunity for his own self-preservation.”

Mr Sarwar’s intervention, at a hastily-arranged press conference in Glasgow, has “strengthened the Prime Minister”, Mr Swinney said, while demonstrating Mr Sarwar “has absolutely no influence” in the UK-wider Labour Party.

39 minutes agoNigel Farage putting Reform UK on 'election war footing'Nigel Farage has said he is putting Reform UK on an “election war footing” amid the turmoil facing Keir Starmer.

In a post on X he said : “I am putting Reform UK on a general election war footing.”

There is no suggestion Labour are planning to take the country to the polls early, even if Keir Starmer is toppled as Prime Minister.

But Starmer faces a key test in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election- with Reform seen as Labour’s main rival. A poor result could see him pushed out by Labour MPs.

1 hour agoDavid Lammy rejects calls for Starmer to stand down: 'It took 14 years to get here' The deputy prime minister has hit back at calls for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down, Sky News reported.

Addressing reporters on Downing Street calling for the PM to go, Mr Lammy said: “It took 14 years to get here. No”.

Mr Lammy struck back at reporters on Downing StreetGetty Images 1 hour agoPolitical crisis in No10 has eased, but this is not the end There was an uneasy silence in Westminster this morning, as no cabinet ministers had come forward to back the Prime Minister, creating a tense atmosphere.

By the afternoon, however, ministers took to social media to show their support for Sir Keir Starmer, insisting he must be given time to ‘get the job done’.

But while it appears that the PM is safe from any mass cabinet walkout for now, the political crisis is far from over.

Some believe the PM’s position has become untenable following the fallout from the Peter Mandelson crisis, and that the issue is unlikely to fade anytime soon.

1 hour agoEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson backs the PM Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has also backed the PM.

Speaking to BBC 5Live she said: “Starmer was elected 18 months ago to do a job and he should be allowed to get on and do that job".

She said Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s press conference this afternoon, to call for the resignation of the PM, was “profoundly the wrong call”.

Starmer is set to address the Parliamentary Labour Party later today.

2 hours agoHome Secretary becomes latest Cabinet minister to back Starmer Shabana Mahmood said Sir Keir Starmer had her "full support" and called for her party to "get on with changing the country for the better".

The Home Secretary said in a post on X: "The PM won a five-year mandate from the British people just 18 months ago.

"Labour governments don't come along often. It is a privilege to serve in one and we must not waste a second.

"The PM has my full support. Let's get on with changing the country for the better."

2 hours agoAngela Rayner urges MPs to 'come together' as she backs Starmer Angela Rayner has urged MPs to "come together" as she backed the Prime Minister in a post on X.

The former deputy prime minister said: "The recent scandal around Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein was shocking - and demands that both this Government and our party learn the lessons, and act on them.

"But the worst possible response would be to play party politics or factional games. Labour is only getting started on changing things for the better - our Employment Rights Act, renters' rights, leasehold reform, free school meals and lifting kids out of poverty.

"I urge all my colleagues to come together, remember our values and put them into practice as a team. The Prime Minister has my full support in leading us to that end."

2 hours agoPM 'need to be given time to deliver' says Sadiq KhanLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan has shown his support for Sir Keir Starmer in a social media post.

He wrote on X this afternoon: “Keir Starmer was elected with a huge majority and needs to be given the time to deliver, especially given the extremely challenging circumstances he inherited after 14 years of Tory governments.”

2 hours agoLisa Nandy also said Sir Keir Starmer has her 'full support'Joining the majority of her Cabinet colleagues in backing the Prime Minister with a post on X, the Culture Secretary said: "We were elected just 18 months ago to fundamentally change this country and improve lives after more than a decade of decline.

"The Prime Minister is right to take that obligation seriously and he has my full support as he works in difficult circumstances to deliver."

Keir Starmer latest LIVE: Angela Rayner joins Cabinet in rallying around PM after Scottish Labour leader urges him to quit

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