Sir Keir Starmer is expected to face furious Labour MPs on Monday as he battles to keep them onside amid fallout from the Lord Mandelson scandal.
The prime minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned on Sunday over his role in the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
In a statement announcing his resignation, he said he took “full responsibility” for the advice to Sir Keir to appoint Lord Mandelson despite his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The PM is expected to address the parliamentary Labour Party at a meeting on Monday, with a number of MPs calling for him to follow Lord Mandelson and Mr McSweeney out the door.
Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth said the prime minister should “question whether he should follow McSweeney’s lead” for the “good of the country”.
Other MPs have backed the prime minister but said Labour must become more “inclusive” if he is to survive in No 10.
Rachael Maskell told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour if he did not he would find it “difficult to continue”.
