Starmer breaks cover as PM's future hangs in the balance
It's the first time the PM has been pictured since Monday's make or break speech.
Sir Keir Starmer broke cover on Tuesday afternoon as a fourth government minister stepped down as the PM's future hangs in the balance.
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The Prime Minister was pictured meeting with apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College on Tuesday afternoon - as a fourth government minister stood down in protest.
It's the first time the PM has been pictured since Monday's make or break speech.
Jess Phillips, Alex Davies-Jones, Miatta Fahnbulleh and Zubir Ahmed have all announced their departure in recent hours.
Yet the remaining cabinet ministers insisted there will be no Labour leadership contest - as David Lammy pledged his full support.
Despite more than 80 MPs calling on Sir Keir Starmer to step down, more than 100 backbench MPs joined forces without the knowledge of Downing Street to ask for the PM to stay on.
Read more: Defiant Keir Starmer challenges Labour rebels to oust him as embattled PM vows to carry on
David Lammy warned that “navel-gazing” within Labour will benefit Nigel Farage and Reform UK as he reiterated his “full support” for Sir Keir Starmer and urged colleagues to “take a breath”.
The Prime Minister was expected to face calls for him to set out a timeline for his departure as members of his top team are understood to be unhappy following Labour's disastrous local election results.
However, Sir Keir told his Cabinet that “the Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered”.
At least 86 out of Labour’s 403 MPs have demanded Sir Keir’s departure after the party’s electoral mauling last week, passing the threshold to trigger a leadership contest but without meeting the condition that they all line up behind a single challenger.
Ms Phillips, the most high profile of the ministerial departures, criticised the Prime Minister’s failure to be “bold”.
Mr Ahmed followed her out of the door on Tuesday afternoon, citing a “lack of values-driven leadership” and saying the public has “irretrievably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister.”
Alex Davies-Jones, also believed to be a supporter of Health Secretary Mr Streeting, also quit the Home Office, saying there had been a lack of “bold, radical action”.
Resigning housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, an ally of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, said the public had lost trust in Sir Keir because of issues such as the scrapping of the winter fuel payment.
The Prime Minister earlier defied calls for him to vacate No 10, telling his Cabinet the country “expects us to get on with governing” and “that is what I am doing”.
He avoided being directly challenged as he declined to discuss his leadership during Tuesday’s gathering or meet critics individually afterwards, the Press Association understands.
Sir Keir said he would only speak to ministers one-to-one about his fate, but did not do so once Cabinet concluded, according to sources.