Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he has full confidence in his team and condemned briefing from No 10 against Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Starmer was speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, where MPs made various references to Downing Street briefing against potential leadership challenges by Streeting and other Ministers.
Badenoch raised the issue of a toxic culture within Downing Street, pointing to unauthorised briefings from No 10 against Labour Ministers and asking the Prime Minister if he still had complete confidence in his Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney.
Starmer said his government was united and that his team was focused on delivering for the country.
“Any attack on any member of my cabinet is completely unacceptable,” Starmer said in response to the question of No 10 briefing against a potential leadership challenge from Streeting.
He said Streeting was doing a great job and applauded the work done by the Health Secretary in providing extra appointments in the NHS.
“I have never authorised attacks on cabinet members. I appointed them to their posts because they are the best people to carry out their jobs,” he added.
In response to Starmer’s pledged support for Streeting and his effectiveness at reducing NHS waiting lists, Badenoch contended there is only one waiting list Streeting is interested in.
Streeting has recently faced questions about whether he is looking to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer following the briefing from Downing Street.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Streeting condemned the briefing from No 10 against him, stating that Starmer would be angry at those behind this.
“That’s the other thing I know about this prime minister: nothing grinds his gears more than this kind of like Westminster bubble stuff and the briefings to newspapers,” Streeting told the programme.
“You don’t see him angry often, but at cabinet meetings, the only time I’ve seen him really angry is when there have been briefings against colleagues.”
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