‘I’m not going away,’ says Keir Starmer despite defence secretary’s exit

PM promises to fight any leadership challenge, saying any successor would face same problems as him

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Keir Starmer has said he knows he has to “turn things around” after a series of crises culminating in the resignation of John Healey, the defence secretary, but warned that any successor would face the same set of difficult decisions.

In an interview with the BBC after Healey’s departure in a row over defence spending, Starmer promised again to fight any leadership challenge from Andy Burnham or others, saying: “I’m not going to go away.”