𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Anas Sarwar has declared that he “stands by” his demand for Sir Keir Starmer to resign. The Scottish Labour leader broke ranks on Monday to call for the Prime Minister to quit over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar said there was now a “general acceptance that things have not been good enough, that there have been too many mistakes and things have to change”. He said: “I stated my view and I stand by that view because I am the one who is putting myself before the public in three months’ time and the people in Scotland deserve to know what my standards are, what I believe, what I am willing to tolerate and what I would do differently if I was elected as first minister.”

Mr Sarwar insisted his intervention was “not part of any wider attempt” to force the Prime Minister to go.

He said Scots deserved to know if he was “willing to call out failure wherever I see it” and act differently as first minister.

He added: “That for me is more important than any given relationship or anything that might matter to the Westminster bubble.”

Mr Sarwar called for Sir Keir to leave No 10 at a hastily arranged press conference on what was a day of turmoil for the PM as he battled to cling on to power.

Sir Keir came under intense pressure amid the furore surrounding Lord Mandelson’s appointment to the plum US ambassador job despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein being known.

Mr Sarwar insisted that the “distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change”.

But the embattled Prime Minister’s Cabinet came out in a co-ordinated show of support for him on social media following Mr Sarwar’s comments.

The lack of support from ministers in Westminster for the Scottish Labour leader’s position suggests the immediate jeopardy for the PM has passed, but his authority has been badly damaged.