Stop plotting to oust Keir Starmer, ex-deputy Labour leader urges MPs

Tom Watson, who had role in attempted coup against Tony Blair in 2006, said move would go down extremely badly with voters

Labour MPs have been urged to stop plotting to remove Keir Starmer by Tom Watson, who as a junior minister spearheaded the last attempted coup against a Labour prime minister, faced by Tony Blair in 2006.

Watson’s warning came as Steve Reed, the housing and communities secretary, and a key Starmer loyalist, said Labour would risk “annihilation” if it decided to try to change leaders.