Ed Miliband Urges the Labour Party to Focus Forward Following Starmer Offers Apology to Wes Streeting for Hostile Briefings

Senior Labour figure Ed Miliband has called for the party to leave behind internal conflicts after leader Keir Starmer directly expressed regret to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP over hostile media stories linked to Downing Street.

Key Events

• Ed Miliband declares the Prime Minister will sack the Downing Street source responsible for attacking Streeting if discovered
• Miliband rejects any party leader ambitions, declaring his past experience as Labour leader was the "most effective protection" against wanting the position again
• UK economy increased by just 0.1% in the July-September period, affected by the JLR cyber-attack

Situation

The political unrest started after media stories surfaced about hostile background comments from the Prime Minister's allies targeting Streeting. Despite early efforts to downplay the incident, the discussion between the PM and the health minister according to sources took a different turn.

The Prime Minister expressed regret to Wes Streeting, journalists have been advised. The discussion was short, and they did not address Morgan McSweeney, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to remove.

Miliband's Statement

In his morning broadcast interviews, Miliband stressed the need for the Labour Party to direct attention on country-wide issues rather than internal conflicts.

Clearly, I think the media briefing has been damaging, certainly.

But my advice to the Labour members now is straightforward, which is we need to concentrate on the country, not ourselves.

We were given a significant election win last July, a historic chance to transform our country. And we have a historic duty.

Economic Update

Separately, government statistics indicated the British economy expanded by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector particularly impacted by the recently reported JLR security incident.

Today's Schedule

• 9.30am: NHS England releases its monthly data
• Today: Wes Streeting is visiting the Liverpool area
• Today: The Chancellor makes comments to the media
• 11.30am: Downing Street conducts its regular media briefing
• Today: The Prime Minister highlights government plans for the UK's first nuclear power plant at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey