Top Starmer aide will not leave No 10 - despite calls for him to be sacked

The prime minister's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney will not leave his job at Number 10, Sky News understands, despite furious calls for him to be dismissed.

Sir Keir Starmer's closest confidante has been under fire in recent days following a briefing row that saw allies of the PM say Sir Keir Starmer would fight any attempts to remove him from office.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting was also accused of plotting to replace Sir Keir Starmer after the chancellor's autumn budget.

Mr Streeting has strongly denied the claim, and accused Number 10 of having a "toxic" culture and of attempting to "kneecap" him.

Sir Keir also disavowed the briefings, saying he "never authorised" the attack on his health secretary, and said cabinet ministers should not be briefed against.

This morning, several national newspapers led with calls from Labour MPs and unnamed ministers for Mr McSweeney to resign or be sacked - the chief of staff himself becoming a victim of anonymous briefings.

But Sky News understands that he categorically denies he was "directly or indirectly" behind the briefings and will be remaining in his job.

Mr McSweeney has been in post as chief of staff since October 2024, and is credited as being a key architect of Labour's transformation following the 2019 election defeat and subsequent victory in 2024.

Mr Streeting was not among those who had called for Mr McSweeney to go, saying on Wednesday that "there wouldn't be a Labour government" without him.

But he had a furious reaction to the briefings against him, telling Mornings With Ridge And Frost: "I do think that going out and calling your Labour MPs 'feral' is not very helpful."

He added: "I do think that trying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out, not just making the case for the government, but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour."

Sir Keir said at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday: "Let me be clear. I've never authorised attacks on cabinet members. I appointed them to that post because they're the best people to carry out that job."

He also said: "Morgan McSweeney, my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country."

The prime minister and his health secretary spoke "very briefly" later that evening, in which he apologised.

On Thursday, Sir Keir said that he had been "assured that no briefing against ministers was done from No 10", and it appears that no formal investigation into who spoke to journalists on Tuesday is under way.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of having "lost control of Number 10" and said two weeks from the 26 November budget, "the government has descended into civil war".

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