Lame duck Keir Starmer 'could quit Commons and become next UN chief' as he faces humiliating PMQs with Labour MPs flocking to Burnham

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 10:06, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 10:09, 24 June 2026 Keir Starmer is bracing for an humiliating PMQs today amid rumours he could pitch to head up the United Nations. The premier finally announced his departure on Monday as Labour MPs flocked to rival Andy Burnham - who is now expected to take over within weeks. Having dodged making a statement to the Commons on the G7 summit, Sir Keir now faces being grilled on his demise for the first time.  Labour sources believe there is little chance Sir Keir will hang around in Parliament for long after he exits Downing Street.  David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Tony Blair all stood down soon after losing power, although Rishi Sunak, Theresa May and Gordon Brown all opted to stay on.  As a former Director of Public Prosecutions, he could return to the bar. However, human rights lawyers at his previous base, Doughty Street Chambers, are said to have been infuriated by a speech warning that Britain risks becoming an 'island of strangers' - even though he subsequently tried to walk the comment back.  Keir Starmer is bracing for an humiliating PMQs today amid rumours he could pitch to head up the United Nations next (pictured in New York in 2024) The premier finally announced his departure on Monday as Labour MPs flocked to rival Andy Burnham (pictured) - who is now expected to take over within weeks The Government push to curb jury trials has also gone down badly with former colleagues.  'There is absolutely zero chance of Keir Starmer being welcomed back, even if he wanted to return. There is a lot of bitterness over the juries policy and the strangers comments,' one source told The Times.  One lawyer close to Sir Keir suggested that he could be 'recruited for some major international role, possibly even UN secretary-general'.  The current holder of the job, António Guterres - a former PM of Portugal - is due to retire by the end of this year. He is currently in the UK for a climate conference. One source told the paper Sir Keir was 'incredibly well regarded globally as a safe pair of hands, who is thoughtful and hardworking'.  'An international role won't require the showmanship of domestic politics. And everyone on the global stage thinks he's an amazing politician,' they added. One Government source pointed out that no leader of a state that is a permanent security council had ever become UN Secretary General. No10 has refused to be drawn on whether the premier will trigger a by-election.  But a Labour veteran joked that Sir Keir would be the perfect candidate for the UN. 'Completely ineffectual? Tick.'  Sir Keir is fighting to keep some semblance of control over the Government, although he is now blocked from announcing any radical new policies. The PM is desperate to finalise the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan before he heads to a Nato summit on July 7 - where he will meet Donald Trump. However, Mr Burnham's team are adamant that the decisions on defence spending should wait until he takes charge, likely on July 17.  The current UN Chief, António Guterres - a former PM of Portugal - is due to retire by the end of this year. He is currently in the UK for a climate conference The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.