Starmer says he backs Sarwar '100 per cent' after Scottish Labour leader's call for Prime Minister to quit
In his first public comments since Mr Sarwar called for him to quit, Sir Keir hit out at infighting within Labour and insisted he would lead the party into the next general election.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he had "huge respect" for Anas Sarwar and supports him “100 per cent without reservation” despite the Scottish Labour leader’s call for the Prime Minister to resign.
In his first public comments since Mr Sarwar called for him to quit, Sir Keir hit out at infighting within Labour and insisted he would lead the party into the next general election.
He said: “I’ve got a huge respect for Anas Sarwar. Obviously, he made his views known yesterday.
“But I want to be really clear that I’m 100 per cent supportive of Anas Sarwar to be the First Minister in Scotland, he’d be an incredible First Minister and I support him 100 per cent without reservation.”
The Prime Minister said the political "turmoil" would not stop him focusing on tackling cost-of-living pressures and improving opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He said: "I am their Prime Minister, and this is their Government and I will never give up on that fight.
"There are some people in recent days who say the Labour Government should have a different part, a fight with itself, instead of a fight for the millions of people who need us to fight for them.
"And I say to them: I will never walk away from the mandate I was given to change this country.
"I will never walk away from the people that I'm charged with fighting for and I will never walk away from the country that I love."
Mr Sarwar is the most senior Labour figure to say the Prime Minister should step down, citing concern that the "distraction" from Downing Street would harm his party's chances of unseating the SNP in May's Holyrood elections.
Earlier, Sir Keir told his Cabinet “the whole of the Labour Party” wants Mr Sarwar to become first minister. He said the party “will fight for a Labour government in Scotland” and thanked his top team for their support, saying they were “strong and united”.
Sir Keir said the government would “continue its relentless focus on the priorities of the British people, including tackling the cost of living”.
Scottish Labour deputy leader said that Mr Sarwar has "absolutely not" been left out on a limb following his call for Sir Keir to quit. despite only two Scottish Labour MPs publicly bsaying the same.
Speaking at Holyrood, Ms Baillie said: "Anas Sarwar is putting Scotland's interests first. He is absolutely right to do so."
Read more: Anas Sarwar's huge gamble risks ending his own leadership and throwing Labour's Holyrood campaign into chaos
She said there had been "too many mistakes, too many distractions" and there needed to be a change at Number 10.
Asked if Mr Sarwar had been left out on a limb, without the backing of other senior figures, Ms Baillie said: "Absolutely not.”
She said the Holyrood election in May “is very much about getting rid of the failing SNP government”, adding: “Anas Sarwar has done the right thing. He has put Scotland's interests first."
Asked if there was a split between party MPs and MSPs in Holyrood, she said: "Not at all."
Approached by journalists in Holyrood, MSPs voiced their support for Mr Sarwar - but some appeared reluctant to actively call for Sir Keir to quit. Michael Marra, the party’s finance spokesman, said: “I support Anas Sarwar and the position that he's taken."
Martin Whitfield, Labour’s chief whip at Holyrood, said Sir Keir “should seriously consider his position”.
Claire Baker, the Labour MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, said: "I support Anas. We have an important election in May and I think the Prime Minister needs to reflect on his position."
Some of the strongest support for Mr Sarwar came from former party leader Richard Leonard, who is not a natural ally of the current Scottish Labour leadership. On the left of the party, Mr Leonard was widely seen as having been forced out by Sir Keir.
"I agree that Keir Starmer should step down,” he told journalists. “For me, it's not just about the [Peter] Mandelson scandal. For me it's also about the removal of winter fuel payments from the pensioners, it's about failing to compensate the Waspi women, it's about threatening to take away independent support for people with disabilities.
"So for me, what we need is not just a change of leader, but a change of leadership and a change of direction."
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman and Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank are the only two out of Labour’s 37 Scottish MPs to have backed Mr Sarwar’s calls.
The Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party met in Westminster on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since Mr Sarwar had urged the PM to resign.
From outside the room, an MP could be heard saying Mr Sarwar’s call was a “huge misstep” and that said the party should “look at the circumstances which led to that”.
Another said: “I think everybody in this room is in a better position than we were last year. We support Keir we respect Anas.
“This cannot be about Scottish Labour versus British labour. Let's take this as a blip and make the most of it.”
The meeting was attended by the vast majority of Scottish Labour MPs, including Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander.
Mr Alexander spoke at the start and end of the meeting.
He had downplayed any rift between Sir Keir and the Mr Sarwar earlier on Tuesday.
He said: “I recognise there was a sincere and genuine disagreement between the Scottish Labour leader and the Prime Minister yesterday but the task remains in hand.
“We will be making the case to every voter that Scotland deserves better than this failing SNP government that if it knew how to solve the problems, would have done so in the first 19 years.
“We need change, and that is something Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer agree on.”
Mr Alexander said Mr Sarwar “is his own man”, but he himself still supports the Prime Minister.
When asked if he had spoken to the pair since Mr Sarwar’s press conference, Mr Alexander said: “I have spoken to the Prime Minister and Anas Sarwar and both are interested in moving on and securing a Labour victory in May.
“The Prime Minister is at pains to recognise that he wants Anas Sarwar as First Minister in May, and Anas Sarwar says he is determined to take the fight to a failing SNP government that he believes is failing Scotland.
“Ultimately, no one has won money betting against Anas Sarwar in an election, whether it’s the Hamilton by-election, the Rutherglen by-election, or the general election.”
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