Sarwar denies being part of wider plot to oust Starmer

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has denied being part of a wider plot to remove Sir Keir Starmer after urging the prime minister to resign.

Hoping to kick-start his campaign for May's Holyrood election, Sarwar called for Starmer to step down at a press conference on Monday.

UK Labour figures have rallied around the prime minister, but Sarwar said on Wednesday that he stood by his call.

The Scottish Labour leader also said he suspended MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy after "new information" emerged about her relationship with a convicted sex offender, former Moray councillor Sean Morton.

Duncan-Glancy said she was "deeply disappointed" by the decision, which she said had not been fully explained to her.

Lord Doyle, Starmer's former director of communications, was also suspended from Labour's Westminster party over his links to Morton.

The prime minister has been heavily criticised by opposition MPs for his handling of the controversy.

Sarwar said on Monday that the "distraction" of scandals - such as the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein - had to "end".

"The leadership in Downing Street has to change," he told reporters.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Sarwar said he stood by his decision.

"I welcome the fact that there is now general acceptance that things have not been good enough, that there have been far too many mistakes and things have to change," he said.

It has been widely reported that Sarwar spoke to senior Labour figures, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy leader Angela Rayner, before calling for the prime minister to resign.

But Sarwar denied any suggestions of a concerted effort.

"This was my decision, and my decision alone," he told reporters.

"I was not part of any wider attempt or any wider organisation. I took the decision based upon what I am willing to tolerate."

The Scottish Labour leader added that he would stand beside Starmer on the campaign trail as long as the prime minister was "delivering for Scotland".

Although Sarwar's sentiments were echoed by several of his MSPs, only two Scottish Labour MPs publicly backed him.

Meanwhile, UK cabinet ministers and the Welsh first minister rallied around Starmer.

Glenrothes and Mid Fife MP Richard Baker, chairman of Scottish Labour's Westminster group, said on Tuesday that the UK government had made "mistakes", but said the prime minister's position had been "confirmed" by endorsements from senior party members.

He added that the Scottish group was "fully committed" to Sarwar.

Starmer also gave his "100%" backing to the Scottish Labour leader and said he had "huge respect" for the Glasgow MSP.

It was announced on Tuesday evening that MSP Duncan-Glancy had been suspended from Labour's Holyrood group while the party investigated her links to Morton.

On Wednesday, Sarwar said he had sacked her from Labour's frontbench when he became aware of the situation, and dropped her as an election candidate when he did not receive "appropriate answers" to questions about Morton, who she has known since childhood.

He told reporters Duncan-Glancy had lost the party whip due to a fresh investigation looking into "new information".

Shortly afterwards, Duncan-Glancy released a statement defending her actions.

She likened Morton to "family" and said the relationship had never affected her role as a politician.

The MSP said she did not condone his crimes, but that he needed support.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: "On both sides of the border, scandal-ridden Labour are in complete meltdown and are totally incapable of standing up to the SNP."

That this was one man's stand against the prime minister seems plausible.

Had Sarwar been part of a co-ordinated effort to oust Keir Starmer, you would have thought other senior figures would have been lined up to back his call for the PM to stand down.

That said, I am told Sarwar did have conversations with many leading Labour figures over the weekend - including Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and Lucy Powell - without sharing what he was about to do.

Those in Labour disillusioned with Starmer's leadership at Westminster and Holyrood are operating on different timescales.

Those who want the PM's job might prefer that he takes the blame for any electoral setbacks Labour suffers in May before making any big moves.

If you are fighting those elections in the hope of becoming Scotland's next first minister and you believe Starmer is holding you back, May is too late.

That's why Sarwar spoke out when he did and he believes that doing so brings him much closer to public opinion however much it complicates the internal politics of the Labour Party.

His calculation was that to do nothing was not an option and that maybe, just maybe, doing something bold could shift Labour's position in opinion polls that suggest the party's miles behind the SNP.

His political opponents and plenty within Labour think he has miscalculated and they might be right but that has yet to proven one way or the other.