'Let Starmer get on with it:' Ed Miliband defends embattled PM as he rules out leadership bid

The Energy Secretary admitted Sir Keir made a "big mistake" in hiring Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, but said the public saw a "slightly different Keir" on Monday.

It comes after the PM said he had "won every fight he had ever been in," during a fiery defence of his position amid ongoing scrutiny in a speech to MPs.

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Tuesday, Mr Miliband said: "I don't think leadership change is what we need.

"I think change in some of the things that we're doing as a Government, yes, but I think changing our leader is not the answer.

"I think Keir needs to be allowed to get on with the job. I would say this as a former leader, leadership is a collective business and we have a duty to support him."

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Asked if he would consider mounting a leadership bid to become leader or Chancellor, Mr Milliband told Nick: "Oh, God, no.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm happy doing the job I'm doing. You know, Nick, that I am, as you are, passionate about issues around climate change."

Mr Miliband was leader of the party for five years, after succeeding Gordon Brown following the party's loss at the 2010 General Election.

On Monday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Sir Keir to resign, insisting "change" is needed in Downing Street following the Mandelson fallout.

It follows the resignation of two of Starmer's top officials - Downing Street Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on Sunday, and executive director of communications Tim Allan on Monday.

In response to the calls, Mr Miliband told Nick he was a friend of Mr Sarwar but said he disagrees that Sir Keir needs to step down, adding that the PM is taking responsibility.

During his speech on Monday, the PM was greeted by applause from colleagues, and LBC's Aggie Chambre, said: "People inside were telling me [Sir Keir's speech] was genuinely pretty stirring, emotional.

"A Labour MP told me it was the best speech he has ever made."

During the address, Sir Keir "talked about the fact that he'd won every fight he'd ever been in", referring to changing the Crown Prosecution Service so "it better served victims of violence against women and girls."

Mr Miliband told Nick: "What I saw last night was somebody who is determined to learn those lessons."

He added: "It was a slightly different Kier last night. It was the Kier that I know in private that sometimes we haven't seen in public settings.

"It was a Kier who was absolutely passionate, absolutely clear about why he was there, [and] what the purpose of the Government was.

"And look, even people who were his critics came out and were like, 'God, we see that Kier, you know, every day out in public.'

"That's exactly what we want to see."

He added: "Any Government that has faced, or seen what has happened last couple of weeks with Mandelson will say, 'look, we've got to take a long hard look at the way that this was allowed to happen, the whole vetting processes and all of that.'

"But also more widely, what does this teach us about money in politics, about connections in politics and how you deal with that?

"It's not about rushing into it with a knee-jerk set of proposals."

Discussing separate matters, Mr Miliband also described himself as being "not in complete agreement" with Donald Trump's anti-views on climate change.

When pressed to go further he told Nick he was a "mild-mannered guy," and added: "We just had figures come out showing a massive increase in clean energy investment in our country.

"We're going to create 400,000 extra jobs in clean energy by 2030. We've got 11,000 more jobs in nuclear than we had a year ago. We're seeing the same in offshore wind.

"Today we're announcing a record-breaking solar auction, which is going to create thousands of jobs across the country.

"This is the big economic opportunity of the 21st century. And countries like China recognise this. We need to recognise it too."