Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers' Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Keir Starmer has admitted that speculation he could be ousted from his job as prime minister is “pretty rife” at the moment in an extraordinarily candid moment. The PM was grilled by MPs on the Liaison Committee on Monday afternoon about the continuous leaks that have come from within his government. The chair of the Standards Committee, Tory MP Alberto Costa, asked the prime minister about the ministerial code of conduct, noting that questions about leadership are meant to be handled by Labour staff – not governmental employees. The Tory MP said: “Can you confirm that Labour Party leadership speculation is a purely party political matter?” It comes after health secretary Wes Streeting was publicly accused by Starmer’s allies of being on manoeuvres for the top job last month. With a laugh, Starmer replied: “No, I’m not sure I can. It seems to be pretty rife.” However, he added: “In terms of the code but I can say hand on heart that none of it comes from me or is encouraged by me.” He said once again that he thinks the briefings against Cabinet ministers are “completely unacceptable”, and that he has urged both his staff and senior ministers to stop. Although he has only been in post for 18 months, Starmer’s leadership is in question after the party’s astonishing nosedive in the polls. Many suggest the local elections in May will be the final straw and he will be forced to resign. No.10′s attempts to undermine Streeting as a potential challenger to Starmer also backfired last month after the senior cabinet minister denied such claims, insisting he is “faithful” to the PM. Many backbenchers instead see the briefing as a sign of just how vulnerable Starmer’s position is right now – especially as he had to apologise to his cabinet colleague. Further leaks from Treasury sources in the run-up to Rachel Reeves’ Budget caused further divisions within parliament. But Starmer insisted that he is across such breaches, telling MPs on Monday: “I’ll get to the bottom of these leaks. They are in any organisations, they’re intolerable. “I took the same action when I was head of the Crown Prosecution Service. There is a leak inquiry. It can go wherever the evidence will take it, and if it comes to a conclusion, I’ll act on it.” Related... No.10 Dismisses Wes Streeting's Thinly-Veiled Attack Against 'Technocratic' Starmer Keir Starmer Slams 'Wild Promises' Made By Brexiteers In Outspoken Attack Labour Minister Hits Out At Keir Starmer Over 'Humiliating' Cabinet Sacking