Anas Sarwar hits out at 'undermining' Labour No10 briefing war
The briefing row which engulfed Downing Street and the Labour Party has "undermined" the message of the UK Government according to the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
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While the Prime Minister has condemned "completely unacceptable" briefings about Health Secretary Wes Streeting seeking to oust him earlier this week, Mr Sarwar said they were "deeply, deeply unhelpful".
However, speaking to journalists in the Scottish Parliament he said he had full confidence in Keir Starmer - though refused to be drawn on the future of the PM's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
And he wouldn't give a categoric answer when LBC asked if he'd prefer Keir Starmer or Wes Streeting campaigning with hin during next year's Holyrood elections.
Scottish Labour is currently seventeen points behind the SNP in the Holyrood opinion polls, and party sources are angry about what they have described as a "shambles" in Downing Street.
On the briefing Mr Sarwar said: "I think it has undermined the message of the government particularly going into the budget period.
"I don't think it's helpful. I know how hard the Prime Minister is working, I know how committed he is to changing the country, I know how hard the UK Cabinet is working and how committed they are... we've got to make sure that we've got a government in Scotland that is working just as hard to change our country and in six months' time, people have the chance to do that by getting rid of the First Minister, and only I and Scottish Labour can do that."
He added that the internal wrangling "needs to stop" and "people need to focus on doing their jobs".
On whether McSweeney needed to go, he said: “I'm not going to get into the personality battles, but the briefing doesn't help anybody. It needs to stop. People need to focus on doing their jobs. That's what the Prime Minister and the Cabinet is doing.”
When LBC put it to him that Wes Streeting had said he's be in Scotland for Scottish Labour's campaign next year, and if the PM would do likewise, Mr Sarwar refused to say.
"There'll be an involvement from people in terms of campaigning - we're a Labour family," he said.
"But let me be really clear, I am leading the campaign in the Scottish elections next year, I am the candidate for First Minister, Keir Starmer is not standing to be First Minister."Wes Streeting is not standing to be First Minister, Rachel Reeves is not standing to be First Minister.
"I'm standing to be First Minister, John Swinney is standing to be First Minister and the choice people face is a third decade of SNP incompetence or a new direction with me and Scottish Labour."
Asked if he'd rather have Wes Streeting or Keir Starmer on the doorsteps with him he said: "I'm going to be leading from the front in this election campaign to change the direction of Scotland and that's a campaign I absolutely relish."