Jack Grey
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It’s been a roller coaster day for the prime minister.

Following a week of scrutiny over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador last year, Starmer faced a significant challenge to his leadership when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on him to quit.

Here's how the day unfolded:

• Starmer started the day in a "dire" predicament and confronting "immense peril", our political editor Chris Mason said, after the PM's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit on Sunday
• Things appeared to go from bad to worse, when his executive director of communications, Tim Allan, then also stood down

• The biggest bombshell of the day came when Sarwar held a news conference and called on Starmer to resign
• "The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change," Sarwar said, becoming the highest profile Labour figure to call for Starmer to go

• But what followed was a flurry of support for the prime minister from his cabinet, with a stream of supportive statements, many as Sarwar was speaking
• A key moment came when his former deputy Angela Rayner offered Starmer her "full support"
• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded Starmer’s position “untenable” – a sentiment shared by several other party leaders
• Starmer then addressed a packed meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, telling them he is "not prepared to walk away from my mandate" and that he has won "every fight I've been in"

We're pausing our live coverage now, you can read more in our news story.

Damian Grammaticas and Joe Pike
Political correspondent and politics investigations correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has released his messages with former US ambassador Lord Mandelson, as he insists they were not close friends.

Among them are messages from March 2025, where Streeting said he thinks he is "toast" at the next election, and others where he criticised the government for having "no [economic] growth strategy".

Writing in the Guardian, Streeting says he had decided to publish the messages "after a weekend of smear and innuendo that I have something to hide".

The health secretary say he thought Mandelson's appointment was "a good move" at the time, but admitted he "did not think enough about the appointment or the past that was known".

Streeting's team said they released all private messages between the pair from six months before Mandelson's appointment in December 2024 to the present day.

Read more about Steeting's past message exchanges with Mandelson.

Image source, Pool

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says there must be a general election if Labour MPs do not "sort themselves out".

Davey told broadcasters earlier: "Labour were elected to bring change to the country and to end the chaos we saw under the Conservatives. But Keir Starmer has failed to deliver, and we still have this daily soap opera. And it's damaging the country."

"Labour MPs have either got to sort this out among themselves, or there is going to have to be a general election," he added.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward, a loyal ally of the PM, says Starmer was "almost a completely different person".

"I’ve sat in every single one of his conference speeches, and many other speeches. I’ve never seen him as passionate as he was then," he told journalists outside the committee room.

Image source, Getty Images

After attending Keir Starmer’s address at a Labour Party Parliamentary meeting earlier, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says “mistakes have been made but lessons will be learned” after Starmer vowed to continue as prime minister.

Reeves describes Starmer’s address as “excellent” and says: “Everyone said, Keir is a man of great integrity and he is the person with a mandate to deliver the change that all of our constituents want to see.”

She adds: "He’s got the backing of the party.”

Meanwhile, deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell tells the BBC she saw “more standing ovations and more support than I’ve seen at any recent Parliamentary Labour Party [meetings] than I can remember".

And, Ellesmere Port and Bromborough MP Justin Madders says Starmer began with an apology, before adopting a message of defiance.

"I don't think he thinks he's hit the end of the road... there was a lot of support for him in there. That certainly didn't feel like an end of days meeting at all,” he tells the BBC.

"If he can do that every day I think the public will start to see a different Keir Starmer," he says.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Cabinet ministers are telling me tonight that the prime minister ends the day in a stronger position than he was in the morning.

They argue Anas Sarwar’s intervention has backfired - and has helped rally MPs around the prime minister.

It seems like the prime minister’s speech to MPs has gone down well.

But, as we’ve been saying all day, there are plenty of dangerous moments still ahead for Starmer.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

We can bring you more now of what Starmer told his MPs, according to extracts shared by Downing Street.

"I have had my detractors every step along the way, and I've got them now," Starmer said. "Detractors that don't want a Labour government at all, and certainly not one to succeed.

"But I'll tell you this, after having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I'm not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos, as others have done."

He described the battle with Reform UK as the "fight of our lives, the fight of our times".

Starmer ended by saying: "I'll tell you this, as long as I have breath in my body, I'll be in that fight, on behalf of the country that I love and I believe in, against those that want to tear it up.

"That is my fight, that is all of our fight, and we're in this together."

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Pat McFadden, a senior cabinet ally of the PM, says Starmer told his MPs about the need to “look outwards rather than some of the stuff we’ve seen from recent weeks".

However, several sources inside the room say there were a number of critical questions from MPs, including at least two that asked about the appointment of former Downing Street director of communications Matthew Doyle to the House of Lords.

"Several of my colleague were very forthright," one Labour MP told the BBC as they left the room.

"The message got across that things need to change and change quickly."

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The prime minister spoke to Labour MPs and peers for more than an hour this evening, answering 44 questions from those in the room.

Starmer repeated his apology for the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, but insisted he was not going anywhere.

According to extracts of his remarks shared by Downing Street, the prime minister told his party: "Every fight I've been in, I have won.”

Allies of Starmer afterwards said he had spoken about his brother, who had learning difficulties, and his sister who works in the NHS, as examples of the sort of people he wanted to fight for.

Streeting seeks to protect his political ambition as he shares texts from Mandelsonpublished at 19:55 GMT 9 February

19:55 GMT 9 February

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

Wes Streeting’s decision to publish some of his text messages with Peter Mandelson is an attempt to achieve various aims. All are connected to his ambition to become the next PM.

Firstly, he wants to distance himself from Mandelson, to try to demonstrate the pair are not that close, and to scotch claims that his links to the ex-ambassador could ruin a future leadership pitch.

He believes he has nothing to hide and with the PM’s premiership teetering, he needs to quickly minimise doubts among potential supporters on the backbench.

Secondly, this intervention helps Streeting project an image as a confident, decisive and front-footed politician. And this arguably creates a clear contrast with the more cautious instincts of the current occupant of Number 10.

Thirdly, Streeting is probably keen to show Labour MPs that he is a little like them: privately frustrated about the state of the economy, worried about holding onto his constituency, and even excited to meet a famous US politician - the Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg.

Fourthly, his messages show some political views that are likely to be widely shared amongst the Labour members who will ultimately choose the next party leader.

In particular Streeting’s push for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state before Starmer made that shift. “Morally and politically, I think we need to join France”, he told Mandelson. “Because Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes.”

As for accusations that these messages have been selectively chosen, Streeting's team insist these are all the Whatsapps between the pair from six months before Mandelson's appointment to today.

It does not, however, include Whatsapp groups, because others involved would have needed a chance to consent. Group messages will be handed to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, Streeting's allies say.

There are certainly moments in the messages that some might think cringeworthy - including kisses from both Mandelson and Streeting to each other. But there is nothing so embarrassingly as to stop a leadership bid in its tracks. And the health secretary wants to prove that fast.

Image source, EPA

Following allegations that he and Peter Mandelson were close friends, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has shared his private messages with the former ambassador.

Speaking to the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Streeting tells Sky News' Beth Rigby that he has "nothing to hide".

Among the dozens of messages Streeting has shared, Mandelson congratulates him for appearances on the BBC, asks if he plans to visit the US and discusses the resignation of former Downing Street communications director Matthew Doyle.

"I'm happy for people to look at [the messages] and I'm happy to answer questions about them," says Streeting.

Angela Rayner crucial in stabilising Starmer's positionpublished at 19:34 GMT 9 February

19:34 GMT 9 February

Nicholas Watt
Political editor, BBC Newsnight

Image source, PA Media

Everything changed, when at 15:37 today, we saw that three-part tweet from Angela Rayner.

The crucial element involved telling her Labour Party colleagues that we should all be supporting Keir Starmer.

Had Angela Rayner decided to say something negative or difficult about Keir Starmer, that would have complicated his position.

Rayner is seen as a hugely strong potential successor, if she's able to sort out the HMRC investigation into the stamp duty paid on her flat in Brighton.

So that stabilised Starmer's position, and since then we've seen messages of support from every member of the cabinet.

In the last hour I spoke to a member of the cabinet, and they said they do think things have calmed down.

So it has stabilised, but I don't think Starmer is out of the woods and wholly safe.

We've got the Gorton and Denton by-election on 26 February, then the Welsh, Scottish and English local elections in May, so it is guaranteed to still be a bumpy road ahead for the prime minister.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The prime minister has left after more than an hour speaking to Labour MPs and peers.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says Keir Starmer has the full backing of the Labour Party after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to step down as PM.

"Respectfully, I strongly disagree with Anas," Nandy tells the BBC.

She says Starmer "made a mistake" in appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador - a mistake he is "right to have owned up to" and apologised for.

She says if the Epstein files "show anything", they show that the UK is desperate in need of change.

"We will go out and do the job that we were elected to do...we are all fully behind the prime minister," she adds.

Image source, PA Media

Today, we've seen various members of cabinet showcase their support for Keir Starmer, not long after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged the prime minister to resign.

Pressure on the prime minister has been increasing following the resignation of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US last year. His director of communications, Tim Allan, also quit earlier today.

Sarwar is the first high-profile Labour politician to advise the PM to consider his position but his appeal echoed calls from other party leaders from across the political spectrum:

• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says Starmer's position is "untenable" - adding that the PM has "no control"
• Following McSweeney's resignation yesterday, the Lib Dems said it was the prime minister who ultimately appointed Mandelson as ambassador, and that "the buck stops with him"

• SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has also called on Starmer to "do the decent thing" and resign
• Starmer "should resign and I think he will shortly", says Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he tells supporters that chances of a general election "this year just got more likely"

• Green Party leader Zack Polanski claims Allan's role in Downing Street was part of "the wider pattern of questionable appointments"

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

​One Labour MP, who is often critical of the prime minister, texts from inside: “If we could bottle this Keir and show it to the country we’ll walk [the next general election]."

There are several noisy rounds of applause we can hear. No signs for now at least of any jeopardy for the prime minister tonight.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Typically at these meetings of the Parliamentary Labour Party, the handful of journalists outside can catch a few snapshots of what’s said by listening from the corridor.

No chance this time. There are about 30 journalists gathered outside.

But, unusually, two security guards are positioned at the door, stopping anyone from getting a chance of listening to what the PM is telling his party.

We can just about hear the frequent rounds of applause coming from inside.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

When the prime minister entered he received a standing ovation from those in the room, we’re told from one inside.

It’s so busy that two ministers have been turned away at the door.

The sense I’ve got from speaking to MPs as they walked in is that Anas Sarwar’s intervention has rallied support for the PM in the parliamentary party.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The prime minister has arrived to address a meeting of Labour MPs and peers.

Huge cheers can be heard from inside as he enters.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

I’m stood in a corridor outside the committee room Labour MPs are gathering in to hear the prime minister speak.

I can’t remember a time it’s been this packed. Both inside the room with MPs and peers, and outside with journalists like me hoping to catch what’s said.

“Don’t forget we’ve got to get the PM in here,” one security guard tells MPs as they try to enter the packed room.

Most of the cabinet have already arrived and the prime minister’s security team are here too.

As the Defence Secretary John Healey walked in, one journalist called after him: “You could be PM by the end of the week John.”