Allies of Keir Starmer admitted he was ‘too weak’ to sack Wes Streeting despite a Cabinet backlash against him yesterday.
The Health Secretary broke ranks on Monday night by releasing his private messages to Peter Mandelson in a bid to distance himself from the disgraced peer.
Mr Streeting’s allies said the move was a response to claims by leadership rivals that his ambitions would be finished when the messages
were eventually revealed as part of a huge data dump of documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
Scotland Yard yesterday warned ministers against releasing their own messages to the peer, claiming it could undermine their investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office.
The Cabinet Office also issued instructions that messages should not be exchanged outside of a formal process expected to take weeks or even months.
But even allies of the embattled Prime Minister said there was little he could do to bring Mr Streeting into line, having been so wounded in the Mandelson fallout himself.
‘I don’t think he can sack Wes. I don’t think he has the strength to sack anyone right now,’ one Starmer ally told the Financial Times. ‘He’s too weak.’
Allies of Keir Starmer admitted he was ‘too weak’ to sack Wes Streeting, pictured on Tuesday, despite a Cabinet backlash against him yesterday
The Health Secretary broke ranks on Monday night by releasing his private messages to Peter Mandelson in a bid to distance himself from the disgraced peer (pictured: Mandy and Starmer pictured in February last year)
A member of the Starmer team also said: ‘Sacking Wes would just uncork even more political chaos of the kind we’re trying to avoid.’
Mr Streeting’s messages reveal indiscreet exchanges in which he complained the Government has ‘no growth strategy at all’.
His allies believe the messages will kill off claims that his friendship with Mandelson could prove fatal to his leadership ambitions. ‘Starmer’s people were running round telling everyone Wes was compromised by the emails,’ said one.
‘So what’s he supposed to do? Just sit back and take it?’
One Cabinet source said it was obvious Mr Streeting had jumped the gun by releasing his messages without seeking approval.
‘It’s classic Wes,’ the source said. ‘P***es off everyone to survive the day.’
Asked if he had reprimanded Mr Streeting, Sir Keir said: ‘I do think we all need to ensure we’re all acting together in this. All the information needs to be pulled together.’
Ed Miliband said yesterday Mr Streeting should ‘move on’ and rally behind the PM. He told Sky News: ‘Move on dot org. Let’s just move past all this.’
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also appeared to offer Mr Streeting a coded rebuke, saying: ‘I think this is a moment to pull in the same direction around bolder ambitions.’
However, allies of Mr Streeting still expect him to try to depose Sir Keir within weeks, it emerged last night.
MPs close to Mr Streeting reportedly said he would need to act immediately after the May local elections to pre-empt a potential challenge from Angela Rayner.
‘Nothing has changed,’ one MP told The Guardian.
‘There was a big performance of unity yesterday but Keir is no safer than he was yesterday.’