Watch: Starmer’s top team ‘over-controlling’, says Jess Phillips

Sir Keir Starmer will be hoping his first Labour conference as Prime Minister this weekend goes better than the last week has done. The PM’s top team is getting rather worried about a host of negative briefings about the government, with leaks including Starmer’s freebie problem and Sue Gray salary reports generating rather suboptimal press for the new Labour Prime Minister. It’s hardly the best start to the job…

The PM has struggled to shut down the stories, with Downing Street parroting a rather weak line about voters being more concerned with delivery over donations and Sir Keir maintaining that, despite outrage among Labour advisers over Sue Gray’s £170,000 wage, he is ‘not going to get into discussions about individual salaries’. Starmer has, however, decided to launch an inquiry into the ‘hostile briefing’ against his chief of staff amid growing concern over leaks. Ironically, it is to be led by top civil service mandarin Simon Case, who some believe is planning to step back from his role early over tensions with Gray – although the Cabinet Office has denied this.