Is this the start of the Cabinet revolt? Starmer hit by fresh resignation as ministers arrive for Downing St showdown
Sir Keir's grip on power appears to be sliding away after members of his top team - said to include Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood - are said to have urged him to make plans for a graceful exit
Ministers have arrived in Downing Street for a Cabinet showdown as embattled Keir Starmer fights to keep his job.
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Cabinet members brushed aside questions from the scores of journalists lining Downing Street as they walked into number 10.
Sir Keir's grip on power appears to be sliding away after members of his top team - said to include Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood - are said to have urged him to make plans for a graceful exit in the wake of disastrous local election results.
Read More: LIVE: First minister quits as more than 70 Labour MPs sign letter telling Starmer to resign as PM
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Miatta Fahnbulleh joined the rebellion this morning, becoming the first minister to quit calling for Sir Keir to go.
But defiant Sir Keir has shown his intention to cling on.
He told Cabinet: “As I said yesterday, I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.
“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.”
This morning Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones, claimed it was business as usual when quizzed on Breakfast with Nick Ferrari but refused to take a £100 bet that Sir Keir would still be Prime Minister at Christmas.
He said: "The Prime Minister has been very clear that he's not walking away.
"I recognise that colleagues will be worried off the back of the local elections last week, in particular those colleagues who represent those communities.
In the wake of Labour's disastrous local election results, Sir Keir tried to quell the revolt in a keynote speech warning of "chaos" if he is ousted and vowing not to "walk away".
But his intervention did not satisfy the furious Labour rank and file, with numbers calling for his resignation continuing to rack up
A formal contest for Labour leader can be triggered when a single candidate gets 81 nominations from MPs.
The timetable for appointing a new PM has emerged as a critical issue as Blairites and the hard Left try to get the upper hand.
The latter want a delay so Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has a chance to win a by-election and return to the Commons - while Health Secretary Wes Streeting would be favourite if the contest is resolved quickly.
Angela Rayner yesterday called on the PM to help Mr Burnham return as an MP, after he was blocked from fighting the Gorton & Denton by-election in February.
Labour sources claimed Ms Rayner has agreed a "dream ticket" deal with Mr Burnham which would see her return as deputy prime minister.