British Labour Party lawmakers decided the right thing to do was unite behind Keir Starmer, Energy Minister Ed Miliband said on Tuesday (February 10), after the Prime Minister refused to heed calls to quit, even by the leader of his party in Scotland, after his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador plunged his government into crisis.

Under pressure over the appointment of a man whose close ties to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have come into full focus, Starmer has attempted to change the narrative.

But a demand from Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, for him to quit and the departure of a second senior aide in as many days did little to stop the questions over his judgment and ability to govern.

The resignation of communications chief Tim Allan followed the exit of Starmer's closest aide, Morgan McSweeney, who said he took responsibility for advising on the appointment of Mandelson to Britain's top diplomatic role in the United States.

Despite Sarwar's intervention, Starmer later received messages of support from his top ministers and some potential leadership rivals, and a positive reception at a meeting of Labour Party lawmakers suggested there would be no imminent move to oust him.

Miliband told BBC Radio 4, there were critics of Starmer's who came out of Monday night's (February 9) meeting "very very impressed by what they heard".

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 10, 2026) (BBC RADIO 4 - Mandatory credit BBC Radio 4. No use UK)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH ENERGY MINISTER, ED MILIBAND, SAYING:

“I think the way I would put it is Labour MPs looked over the precipice once Anas Sarwar made his statement and they didn't like what they saw and they thought the right thing to do was to unite behind Keir, to focus on the country because we didn't want to go down the road of the Tories when they were in power, a chaotic, disorderly leadership contest. But I want to be very clear with you Nick, Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed to this post. We are a government whose central purpose, I believe, is to stand up for the powerless, not the powerful. And it undermines that. And this has got to be, as you indicated in your introduction, a moment of change where we have much greater clarity of purpose, avoid some of the mistakes that we've made, but but also focus outwards on the country.”

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH ENERGY MINISTER, ED MILIBAND, SAYING:

“I think Keir would agree with this because the truth is that I think the government, our government is doing lots of good things for the country, whether it's new employment rights or investment in the NHS or what I'm seeking to do driving forward with clean energy. But it's been drowned out by policy mistakes like winter fuel payment. And you know, this goes. I've been in politics a long time, as have you. What gets you through is a sense of your values and your moral mission. I know why this government was elected because for 20 years, this country has been run for the wealthy and powerful, not ordinary working people. And the manifestation of that is this long term cost of living crisis. We exist to change that. That is our mission. And everything must be consistent with that purpose."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH ENERGY MINISTER, ED MILIBAND, SAYING:

"The Keir I saw last night at the parliamentary Labour Party was the Keir I know, the private Keir that I've known for 15 years, which is somebody who is motivated by exactly what I describe to you. And if the people around him who are his closest friends and I'm one of his closest friends in politics, have had a frustration, it's that the private Keir we know hasn't been sufficiently on display to the public. And, you know, there were lots of people who went into that meeting last night who were Keir's critics and came out not, you know, actually very, very impressed by what they heard. We need more of that. And I know he recognises that."