BELEAGUERED Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to hold on to his divisive chief of staff Morgan McSweeney amid growing calls for his dismissal.

Angry Labour MPs believe that Mr McSweeney must carry the can for this week’s botched briefings against Health Secretary Wes Streeting, which have enflamed speculation of an imminent challenge to Sir Keir.

The premier continued to insist that he has “full confidence” in his chief of staff, without whom Sir Keir, a hapless politician, would struggle to function.

He also revealed that he had asked his Downing Street team whether they had been involved in the briefings against Mr Streeting and other cabinet members and they had responded with one voice that they had not.

“I have been talking to my team today. I have been assured that no briefing against ministers was done from No 10, but I have made it clear that I find it absolutely unacceptable,” Sir Keir said.

“I have been assured it didn’t come from Downing Street,” he added for emphasis, as if trying to convince himself. 

Despite this, Sir Keir apologised today to Mr Streeting for something he didn’t do and didn’t know who did either.

It is doubtful that this distinctly cursory “investigation” will be enough to still the voices, mainly too fearful to go on the record, who believe that Mr McSweeney is too large a part of the government’s problems and that his time is up.

The chief of staff has been fingered for other recent Starmer calamities, including the notorious Powellite “island of strangers” speech on immigration and the ill-judged recruitment of Lord Peter Mandelson, boon companion of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Mr McSweeney also owns the failed political strategy of chasing Reform voters by aping their prejudices and thereby haemorrhaging support to the left.

Tony Blair’s arch-spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, put the boot in today, telling the BBC “the worst thing about recent days is it’s made a relatively new government look like the last lot. 

“There are bigger, worse enemies — like Nigel Farage. Get a grip,” he demanded.

One of the briefed against, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, sought to shore up Sir Keir’s position by stressing that anyone involved in the stories would definitely be sacked, although it seems more likely that they definitely won’t.

Sir Keir “always says, if he finds the person, he’ll get rid of them. And I absolutely believe he would do that,” Mr Miliband insisted.

The former Labour leader also disclaimed any interest in replacing Sir Keir, although many Labour MPs doubt that is true either.

Mr Miliband answered “definitely not” when asked if he would stand. “I had the greatest inoculation technique for wanting to be leader of the Labour Party by being leader of the Labour Party between 2010 and 2015,” he said.

However, many believe that in the event of a leadership contest — a matter of when not if in the view of most MPs — he could be the “soft left” standard-bearer in the absence of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and with former deputy prime minister Angie Rayner feeling it is too early for a comeback.

Not helping Mr McSweeney’s chances of survival was the championing of his cause by Maurice Glasman, the peer who heads the nativist “blue Labour” faction.

Lord Glasman acknowledged that there was a “civil war” in the party involving his friend Mr McSweeney, framing it as “there’s blue Labour and there’s new Labour and there’s a contestation.”

Given all shades of the left are united against Mr McSweeney, adding the formidable “new Labour” cohort to his enemies will not help secure his position.

In other Downing Street news, Sky News revealed that new communications chief, Blair-era retread Tim Allan, was still sharing government information with the lobby company he part owns.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski commented: “This raises yet even more questions about the operation going on at the heart of Downing Street. 

“The worst thing is — it doesn’t even feel that shocking.”