STORY
Health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed has resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s Government, becoming the fourth junior minister to quit in a day as pressure intensifies on the Prime Minister to stand down.
Ahmed, the Labour MP for Glasgow South West, said he had resigned “after reflection” and added that “Country first. Always.” In his resignation letter, he said Starmer’s position was now “wholly untenable” and argued that individual achievements in Government had been “dwarfed and undermined by a lack of values-driven leadership at the centre”.
The timing of the resignation will inevitably attract scrutiny. Ahmed served in the Department of Health and Social Care under Wes Streeting, who is widely seen as a possible contender if Starmer is forced into a leadership contest. Several reports described Ahmed as an ally of Streeting, and his resignation came on the same day as other ministerial departures, including Jess Phillips, Alex Davies-Jones and Miatta Fahnbulleh.