Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Urges Labour to Look Ahead After Starmer Offers Apology to Streeting for Aggressive Briefings
Senior Labour figure Ed Miliband has called for the party to move beyond internal conflicts after PM Sir Keir Starmer personally apologised to health minister Wes Streeting MP over damaging leaked comments coming from the Prime Minister's office.
Key Updates
- Ed Miliband confirms the Prime Minister will sack the No 10 source responsible for attacking Wes Streeting if discovered
- Miliband rejects any party leader aspirations, declaring his past experience as Labour leader was the "best inoculation" against seeking the role again
- UK economy increased by just 0.1% in the July-September period, hit by the JLR cyber-attack
Situation
The political turmoil erupted after media stories surfaced about negative background comments from Starmer's supporters targeting the Health Secretary. Despite early efforts to minimize the matter, the conversation between Starmer and Streeting according to sources followed a different direction.
The Prime Minister said sorry to Wes Streeting, journalists have been advised. The discussion was short, and they did not discuss the chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under growing pressure to dismiss.
The Energy Secretary's Statement
In his early morning media appearances, Miliband emphasized the need for the party to concentrate on national issues rather than internal divisions.
Clearly, I think the briefing has been bad, certainly.
But my call to the Labour party now is quite simple, which is we need to concentrate on the country, not our internal matters.
We were given a major victory last summer, a historic chance to change our nation. And we have a serious obligation.
Growth Update
Meanwhile, government data showed the British economic performance grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector particularly affected by the recently reported Jaguar Land Rover security incident.
Today's Schedule
- 9.30am: NHS England issues its latest statistics
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits Liverpool
- Morning: Rachel Reeves makes comments to the journalists
- 11.30am: Number 10 conducts its daily media briefing
- Today: The Prime Minister promotes government plans for the Britain's pioneering nuclear power facility at Wylfa on Anglesey