Sir Keir Starmer has been left squirming in the House of Commons after Kemi Badenoch warned Labour is teetering towards a “civil war” following last night’s No10 briefings against Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

In a fiery exchange, Mrs Badenoch asked if Mr Streeting was right when he said there was a “toxic culture in Downing Street that needs to change”.

Sir Keir replied: “My focus each and every day is on rebuilding and renewing our country. But let me be absolutely clear, any attack on any member of my cabinet is completely unacceptable.”

The Prime Minister was visibly uncomfortable as he was forced to put up an even firmer defence for his Health Secretary.

“He’s doing a great job, as is the whole of my Cabinet,” Sir Keir said.

Putting pressure on the Prime Minister, Mrs Badenoch then asked: “Just last night, [Sir Keir’s] allies accused not just the Health Secretary but the Home Secretary and even the Energy Secretary of launching leadership bids.

“These attacks came from No10, nowhere else, his toxic Number 10. The person responsible for the culture in No10 is his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. Does the Prime Minister have full confidence in him?”

Sir Keir replied: “Morgan McSweeney, my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.

“Let me be clear, of course, I’ve never authorised attacks on Cabinet members, I appointed them to their post because they’re the best people to carry out their jobs.”

Sir Keir was put under even more pressure when Mrs Badenoch asked if the Prime Minister had lost control of No10.

The Leader of the Opposition said: “[Sir Keir] says these attacks aren’t authorised. That means he’s lost control of Number 10, because that’s where they’re coming from.

“The real scandal is that two weeks from a budget, the Government has descended into a civil war, instead of fixing the economy the mess they’ve made of the economy.”

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The House of Commons burst into laughter when the Prime Minister claimed Labour was a “united team”.

Speaking through a cacophony of noise, Sir Keir added: “The fastest growth in the G7, five interest rate cuts, trade deals with the EU, the US and India. All of which we’ve delivered.”

In an update to MPs, Sir Keir continued: “The Bank of England has upgraded growth today, we’ve secured £230 billion of private investment.”

Rumours started swirling around Westminster last night after the Prime Minister’s allies started briefing against Mr Streeting.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had also been earmarked as potential leadership challengers, with former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner named as “kingmaker”.

Dismissing speculation this morning, Mr Streeting said: Someone has definitely been watching too much Celebrity Traitors in Downing Street, they should swap it for CountryFile in future and calm down a bit.

“I’m a Faithful, what you have seen from a silly No10 source overnight is probably the worst attack on a Faithful since Joe Marler was banished in the Traitors’ final.”

The Health Secretary also slammed No10 as having a “toxic” culture.

“I do think that going out and calling your Labour MPs feral is not very helpful,” the Ilford North MP added.

“Trying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out not just making the case for the Government but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour.

“I also think whoever did this does not speak for the Prime Minister.”

Mr Streeting also put pressure on the Prime Minister to sack his rumour-rousing allies.

No10 insiders had claimed Mr Streeting and other potential leadership contenders had been plotting to stage a coup as early as November 26, when Rachel Reeves will unveil her tax-hiking Budget.

Sir Keir was said to have entered “full bunker mode” amid fears the Prime Minister’s days could be numbered ahead of next May’s Local Elections.

The Prime Minister’s supporters even suggested Sir Keir is “already fighting the leadership election” with outreach to Labour backbenchers.

Despite speculation of a challenge in May, Labour rules remain far more stringent than those adopted by the Conservative Party, making it more of a challenge for the parliamentary party to topple Sir Keir.

However, 80 MPs could initiate a Labour leadership election.

Candidates must secure the backing of major trade unions or constituency parties before a vote goes to Labour’s declining grassroots membership base.

Jeremy Corbyn faced a similar test in the wake of the Brexit referendum in 2016 when he lost a confidence vote by 172 votes to 40.

After refusing to resign, the now-disgraced former Labour leader won the subsequent membership vote in a landslide.

An ally of the Prime Minister told The Times: “Keir knows he is already fighting a leadership contest. When it comes, he won’t resign. He will fight it. He thinks it’s fantasy politics.”

While parliamentary pressure forced Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss out of No10, no Labour leader has been successfully ousted from office mid-term.