Ed Miliband Calls on the Labour Party to Look Ahead After Starmer Offers Apology to Wes Streeting for Negative Briefings
Senior Labour official Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has urged the party to move beyond party disputes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer directly said sorry to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP over negative briefings coming from Downing Street.
Important Updates
- Ed Miliband confirms Starmer will sack the No 10 official responsible for targeting Wes Streeting if found
- The Energy Secretary rules out future leadership aspirations, stating his past experience as Labour leader was the "most effective protection" against desiring the position again
- British economic growth grew by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, impacted by the JLR cyber-attack
Situation
The political controversy started after media stories circulated about hostile briefings from Starmer's team targeting Streeting. Although early efforts to downplay the incident, the conversation between Starmer and the health minister according to sources followed a more serious direction.
Starmer apologised to Streeting, journalists have been informed. The discussion was brief, and they did not discuss the chief of staff, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to remove.
The Energy Secretary's Response
In his early morning broadcast appearances, Miliband highlighted the need for the party to direct attention on country-wide matters rather than party conflicts.
Clearly, I think the backgrounding has been damaging, without doubt.
But my message to the party now is clear, which is we need to concentrate on the country, not ourselves.
We were given a major mandate last summer, a major opportunity to improve our country. And we have a serious obligation.
Growth News
In other news, official statistics indicated the British economy grew by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, with the manufacturing industry particularly impacted by the recently reported Jaguar Land Rover security incident.
Today's Schedule
- 9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures
- Morning: The Health Secretary visits the Liverpool area
- Today: Rachel Reeves makes comments to the press
- Late morning: Downing Street holds its regular media briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer highlights plans for the UK's pioneering nuclear power project at Wylfa on Anglesey
