Baroness Smith denied the Prime Minister was about to resign over the Mandelson scandal

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A senior minister issued a desperate plea to Labour MPs not to try to topple Sir Keir Starmer as he fights for political survival.

The Prime Minister was facing fresh calls to quit from within an increasingly mutinous Labour party after the resignation of his top aide over the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.

But Skills Minister Baroness Smith denied reports that he was about to stand down, stressing that he wanted to focus on issues such as improving the NHS, easing the cost-of-living crisis and tackling violence against women.

“One of the mistakes of previous governments, that it's pretty important that this Labour government doesn't fall into, is the sort of focus on infighting, believing that constant changing of leaders is going to solve some of the very difficult problems that this country and in fact, the world faces,” she told Times Radio.

“That I think would be a mistake, and I hope that my colleagues don't pursue that particular route.”

Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, centreAmid reports that Sir Keir had considered quitting over the Mandelson scandal, the minister insisted that the PM was determined to stay in No10 to “continue to lead” the change that Labour pledged to voters in its election manifesto.

“The last thing that the country or the party could do with at the moment is a lengthy leadership campaign,” she stressed on Sky News.

The minister, though, admitted she had not spoken directly to Sir Keir amid rumours that he was considering resigning as he was so rocked by his blunder over appointing Lord Mandelson as British ambassador to the US.

“I don’ t believe he will, I don’t think he should,” she told BBC radio.

“It was the British public that elected him to serve a five-year term and to change this country.”

The Prime Minister was on Monday expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) amid anger over his appointment of the peer as ambassador to the US despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences.

It comes a day after Morgan McSweeney quit as Sir Keir’s chief of staff, taking “full responsibility” for giving the Prime Minister advice that resulted in the “wrong” appointment.

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Baroness Smith denied that McSweeney was a “human shield” for Sir Keir and said she “very much hoped” he would be PM in a year’s time, stopping short of saying she believed he would still be in No10 then.

Scrutiny of Sir Keir’s own judgment is mounting as critics, including some of his MPs, have highlighted that he made the final decision.

The pressure on his premiership looks unlikely to ease as the Government prepares for the lengthy process of releasing tens of thousands of emails, messages and documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment.

Sir Keir believes the files will prove the former Labour grandee lied about the extent of his ties to the notorious paedophile Epstein during his vetting.

Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein.The Guardian, citing a well-placed source, said they would show the Cabinet Office had warned about the grave reputational risk of handing Lord Mandelson the ambassadorship.

Sir Keir and Mr McSweeney, blamed by many for pushing for his ally Lord Mandelson to get the coveted ambassadorship, mutually came to the decision that it was the right moment to move on, it is understood.

The Prime Minister credited his longtime adviser’s “dedication, loyalty and leadership” for Labour’s 2024 general election win and said he owed him a “debt of gratitude” in a statement that did not mention the Lord Mandelson fiasco.

Former UK Ambassador to the US Lord Peter Mandelson (PA)Mr McSweeney’s deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, have been appointed joint acting chiefs of staff.

Labour MP for York Central Rachael Maskell told the Press Association that Mr McSweeney’s departure was “a start” but that Sir Keir had to “turn away from the factionalism” engendered by his former aide.

“If he hasn’t understood the seriousness of the situation, then I think he will find it very difficult to continue,” she told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour.

Other Labour MPs on the left of the party, including Brian Leishman, Ian Byrne and Kim Johnson, suggested Sir Keir should consider following Mr McSweeney out the door.

Two unnamed Cabinet ministers were quoted by The Times as saying Sir Keir was “weaker” and “could stand down at any moment”, a claim No 10 said was “categorically untrue”.

Union chiefs also heaped pressure on the Labour leader, with Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright saying he should resign.

The Prime Minister hailed Morgan McSweeney’s ‘dedication, loyalty and leadership’ following his resignation (PA)Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Labour-affiliated Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, told The Telegraph: “There’s no case for waiting until May, given the scale of defeat we are facing at these critical elections. It’s time to elect a new leader.”

But Starmer ally John Slinger said “the last thing the country needs is leadership speculations”, while Labour grandee Lord Blunkett warned against “a party acting like ferrets in a sack”.

Downing Street remained defiant, insisting the Government’s policy agenda and commitment to its economic strategy had not changed.

Sir Keir is also expected to speak to the women’s PLP after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and make on-camera interventions this week.

He and Mr McSweeney have pinned blame on vetting by the security services for failing to disprove Lord Mandelson’s claims that he barely knew the late financier, which were later dramatically debunked by disclosures in the so-called Epstein files.

Officials have been tasked with examining that process as a priority.

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