Casualty spoilers follow for Saturday’s (May 9) episode that is now available to view on BBC iPlayer. The episode in question will air on BBC One at 8:45pm.

Stevie Nash (Elinor Lawless) made the gravest of mistakes this week and it’s one that could’ve had major consequences – both in terms of her career and a patient’s life.

The fan-favourite ED consultant, who has been struggling with pains, was taken aback when her prescription was unexpectedly changed to opioids. At first, she vowed to do without them.

But with her pain levels increasing – not to mention stress at an all-time high in the ED due to a series of explosions on Wyvern Estate – she ultimately took the drugs.

Teddy Gowan (Milo Clarke), meanwhile, rescued a young girl from the aforementioned explosion and, as the opioids took effect, Stevie made a big mistake, administering too much morphine to the patient.

Matty Linlaker (Aron Julius) later worked out what had transpired and confronted Stevie but he ultimately refrained from telling her what she did, instead taking the blame when confronted on it by Dylan Keogh (William Beck).

The question is: will the truth come out? will Stevie face consequences for her actions?

Matty subsequently asked Stevie out for dinner but she declined.

The doctors, as fans will know, commenced an affair after they grew close in the wake of Kim Chang’s (Jasmine Bayes) death.

A number of weeks ago – at the beginning of the latest boxset Lethal Legacy – after the team spent the day trying to deal with what appeared to be the start of a new pandemic, the two were seen kissing passionately behind an ambulance

The relationship received quite the reaction from viewers and in the show it seems Stevie fears a similar reaction if Dylan – who is Matty’s dad – were to find out, opting instead to keep her dalliance’s with Matty a secret.

But as any soap fan knows, secrets don’t stay secret for too long.

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In terms of viewer reaction to the new coupling, fan Hannah wrote on social media: ‘stevie why???? I love you sm but matty???’.

Predicting more drama for Stevie, this person added: ‘STEVIE NO!!! this won’t end well’.

Casualty airs Saturday at 8:45pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

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MORE: Casualty trailer appears to confirm shock death and fans are terrified

Having missed out on selection for last year’s Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam decider against France, Marlie Packer’s remarkable international career may have seemed to some to be winding down.

The 36-year-old, who lost the England captaincy to Zoe Stratford at the start of last year, had slipped down the pecking order and was fighting to make a home World Cup squad.

Packer went on to play at the tournament but remained on the fringes and did not feature in any of the knockout games as England claimed glory.

Less than a week on from becoming a two-time World Cup winner, she announced she was “not hanging up her boots any time soon”.

Despite being leapfrogged by Sadia Kabeya, player of the match in the World Cup final, the Saracens forward said she was contracted until June 2026 and felt fitter than ever.

It was a good decision to continue. The Red Roses have lined up another Grand Slam decider against France next week thanks to Saturday’s 61-33 victory over Italy, a win spearheaded by Packer’s four tries.

The performance earned her the player-of-the-match award, as did her two-try display against Wales, with the veteran forward taking advantage of injuries and pregnancies disrupting John Mitchell’s starting pack.

“My secret weapon is that I am enjoying it and I have a smile back on my face,” Packer told BBC Sport.

“I am getting the minutes. For the last couple of years, Sadia Kabeya has had the nod over me but fair play, I have my opportunity at the moment and I am enjoying it. I have a smile and there is no pressure.”

In Parma, Packer showed impressive acceleration to latch on to a kick through for her opening try, before bulldozing her way to the tryline three more times – smashing through a number of Italy defenders for her fourth score.

Despite being the oldest player in the squad, Packer is now firmly in line to feature in the decider against France next Sunday at the 42,115-capacity Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux.

“Marlie doesn’t go away, does she?” Mitchell said to BBC Sport when asked about the 115-cap flanker, who led her country to back-to-back Grand Slams in 2024.

“After the World Cup she was like, ‘Where do I sit?’ and I said, ‘Marlie, you are one of the best sevens in the country and if you are happy with that, I am happy with that’.

“She is so determined and she has achieved so much. All the standards that we have now have very much been shaped by the way she leads.”

England captain Megan Jones was also full of praise for her former skipper, who registered 12 tackles against Italy and made 92 metres from 14 carries.

“She has a never-say-die attitude and is next level. She goes 100% even when we are walking,” Jones added.

A Labour MP has dramatically warned would-be leaders in the cabinet to challenge Sir Keir Starmer by Monday – or she will – following the party’s disastrous local election results.

Catherine West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, who was sacked by Sir Keir as a junior minister in the Foreign Office, said the cabinet should “reorganise themselves” and put forward their “best communicator” to replace the PM, avoiding a contest.

If that did not happen she would seek the 80 names needed to trigger a contest, she said.

Speaking to The Independent, Ms West said: “We had cataclysmic election results last week and our response so far does not match the emergency that faces us.”

She added: “I am terrified we will end up with Prime Minister Farage.”

Her intervention came as Sir Keir recruited party favourites Gordon Brown and Baroness Harriet Harman to try and help secure his flagging premiership.

As the scale of Labour’s failures at the local elections ballot box emerged, The Independent has also learnt that some senior ministers were attempting to prevent a leadership election amid fears that the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could launch a coup as early as next week.

Meanwhile, support is growing for energy secretary Ed Miliband, health secretary Wes Streeting and defence minister Al Carns.

Ms West’s move comes amid speculation from Labour MPs that the serious candidates to replace Sir Keir – including Ms Rayner and health secretary Wes Streeting – were awaiting “a stalking horse” to “allow them to swoop in”.

Speaking to The Independent, Ms West said she would welcome Mr Streeting, Mr Miliband, Ms Rayner or education secretary Bridget Phillipson taking over as leader and prime minister.

But she warned that time was running out for Labour with an election two to three years away.

“We need to tool up for this, because it’s going to be the fight of our life. We need to take on Reform and to put forward a centrist vision of the country that people can really get behind.”

Ms West, who originally comes from Australia, warned that the urgency meant that it was no longer possible to wait for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who would need to win a by-election to become an MP for a takeover bid.

Ms West has been in contact with the party leadership over her intentions, including party chair Anna Turley and Ms Phillipson who will be on the morning media round with her on Sunday.

She said: “Basically, the cabinet needs to get into the room, close the door and sort it out between themselves. Give Keir a role of some sort. He’s very good on the international relations.

“I think there’s so many good people, not just in the cabinet but her newly elected people, dust off your CV, get yourself in there.”

Downing Street has not commented on Ms West’s challenge but in a bid to win back the party faithful, the prime minister appointed Mr Brown – once described by Tony Blair as “the big clunking fist” – as his special envoy on global finance and brought in former deputy leader Baroness Harman as his adviser on women and girls.

Sir Keir posed with both on the steps of Downing Street on Saturday, ignoring questions about his future.

But an attempt on Friday night to get his cabinet to wheel in behind him backfired after a number of senior figures notably remained silent.

One ally claimed that Mr Streeting was “waiting for another candidate to go first before entering the fray”.

Others not to publicly endorse the prime minister were home secretary Shabana Mahmood, energy secretary Ed Miliband, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who have all been identified as possible leadership contenders.

Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines commander who has growing support among Labour MPs, also notably avoided offering his support.

An ally of Mr Carns added: “Al’s problem is if he jumped he could just be seen as a stalking horse. Wes [Streeting] and others want him to go so they can swoop in.”

With at least eight Labour MPs now publicly demanding Sir Keir sets a timetable for his departure, pressure was mounting on the prime minister as more privately said he could not lead them into the next election.

The latest to speak out was Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash, who saw Reform sweep his area. He said: “I’d prefer by party conference [in September], but setting the timetable is the critical thing.”

Another told The Independent that “it is not just MPs on the left who want him to go”.

A previous loyalist added: “The mood is generally awful as you can imagine. I’m not saying anything publicly right now but clearly we can’t go into the election with him as leader.”

A second minister added: “The fear at the moment is we will end up with Angela as our version of Liz Truss.”

A source close to Ms Rayner denied speculation that she could launch a bid as early as next week.

But the hopes to get Mr Burnham in as an MP as a “unifying figure” to lead the party appeared to have united ministers with leftwing rebels.

There was speculation that MPs were being told they would get a peerage if they stepped aside for Mr Burnham.

However, one MP warned: “Given what just happened I am not sure where Andy Burnham could stand and win a seat even if someone was willing to step down to give him an opportunity.”

Labour’s disastrous performance saw Reform winning most of the council seats in the north west of England, including all 22 available in Wigan and 16 out of 17 in the Tameside Council area which includes Ms Rayner’s constituency.

Sir Keir continued his fightback on Saturday with a video put out on social media where he admitted that the party needed to do more to convince voters.

He said: “It’s important that we reflect and respond to these results – we haven’t done enough to offer people hope for the future.”

With plans for a major speech on Monday, he added: “In the coming days I’ll be setting out the path ahead.”

It comes after the victim was seen taking out £30 at a cashpoint outside Tesco in Thirsk at 5.36pm on April 9.

She was captured being distracted and walking away before leaving the money at the machine.

The money was subsequently taken, North Yorkshire Police have said, by the next person to use the service.

Recommended reading:

Police have released a CCTV image of a woman officers would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

If you think you can help with their appeal, please email peter.henderson@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101 and ask for PC1668 Henderson.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference 12260063679 when passing on information.

Manchester City beat Brentford on Saturday evening to ensure the Premier League title race against Arsenal goes down to the wire

Manchester City picked up a crucial 3-0 victory against Brentford on Saturday to keep the Premier League title race against Arsenal alive. Goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush sealed the win to take Pep Guardiola’s side to within two points of the Gunners before they face West Ham United on Sunday.

Despite beating the Bees on the third last weekend of the Premier League season, City still have nine points to play for. Crystal Palace are the next visitors to Etihad Stadium with that clash – rearranged from Carabao Cup final weekend – taking place next Wednesday evening.

Their FA Cup final against Chelsea next Saturday means another midweek clash for City, six days on from taking on Palace with Bournemouth as their opponents. Andoni Iraola’s side are unbeaten since January and in a great position to finish sixth, which could mean Champions League football and thus presents City with quite the challenge.

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They end the season against Europa League finalists Aston Villa, with Unai Emery and his players heading north just a few days after facing Freiburg in Istanbul. As for Arsenal, the title race remains in their hands, and they can take one step closer to it with maximum points against the Hammers.

Arsenal then have an eight-day rest before hosting Burnley on Monday, May 18, in their final home match of the season. Winning the title in front of their own fans is a possibility if City drop points against Palace.

It is more than likely, however, that the Gunners will have to wait until the final day of the season against Crystal Palace to claim their first title in two decades.

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Similarly, to Villa, Oliver Glasner’s side are in a European final as they face Rayo Vallecano for the Conference League just three days after facing Arsenal.

Arteta’s side almost certainly have the easier remaining fixtures with the context of what their opponents are playing for also considered. A trip to Selhurst Park is far from straightforward but Glasner seems set to rest some key players.

Ahead of their clash with Everton, he was asked about exactly that. “To be honest, if somebody criticises for me, sorry, if I can say this, it would be nonsense,” he said.

“It’s just the last game but there were 37 games played before. That means if another team on matchday 25 rotated against City or Arsenal they affected the title race as well.

“I’m not responsible for Arsenal, I’m not responsible for Manchester City, I’m responsible for Crystal Palace and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace and not for City and not for Arsenal.

“Again, I don’t know what we’re doing yet. Maybe we’ll be playing with the same line-up that we’ll play against Vallecano but again, maybe it feels like the league title is decided on the last day but at the end, it’s a result of 38 matchdays and everybody gets what they deserve.”

Here are the remaining fixtures for both in all competitions:

Manchester City’s final fixtures

Manchester City vs Crystal Palace – Wednesday, May 13 at the Etihad Stadium

Chelsea vs Manchester City – Saturday, May 16 at Wembley Stadium (FA Cup final)

Bournemouth vs Manchester City – Tuesday, May 19 at the Vitality Stadium

Manchester City vs Aston Villa – Sunday, May 24 at the Etihad Stadium

Arsenal’s final fixtures

West Ham vs Arsenal – Sunday, May 10 at the London Stadium

Arsenal vs Burnley – Monday, May 18 at the Emirates Stadium

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal – Sunday, May 24 at Selhurst Park

PSG vs Arsenal – Saturday, May 30 at Puskas Arena (Champions League final)

Human Rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich has claimed that police failures in the investigation of serial rapist John Worboys allowed him to ‘perfect’ his crimes and continue assaulting women

The real life lawyer from an ITV crime drama about the ‘Black Cab Rapist’ has revealed how he carried out the “perfect crime”.

Pioneering human rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich, who will be portrayed on screen by Amandaland’s Philippa Dunne in chilling new series Believe Me, has told what it was like to work on the horrific real life case and hold to account a system that failed women.

She says: “The shocking aspect was the serial rapist nature of his attacks, and the fact that this was effectively enabled by totally inadequate policing.”

Believe Me, starting on ITV tomorrow evening (MAY 10), is about John Worboys, one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history, who is currently serving multiple life sentences for sexual attacks on women between 2000 and 2008.

Worboys, played in the drama by Daniel Mays, preyed on women under the cover of being a ‘respectable’ licensed London black cab driver.

He would target solo women to pick up, claim he’d had a big win at a casino or on the lottery, then offer them a drug-laced glass of champagne to help him celebrate – which would knock them out.

After assaulting the women, he would often then boldly drop them at home. The women often had little or no memory of what had happened to them.

Harriet, founder and CEO of the Centre for Women’s Justice, who worked on the notorious case, says: “What Worboys did was shocking. The fact that he rendered the women unconscious and then raped or sexually assaulted them in the back of his cab and then delivered them home with the expectation they wouldn’t remember.”

She added:” “That dangerous modus operandi was quite distinct but it clearly worked and he was able to get away with it for so long. That’s a very growing and present issue, that if you spike somebody’s drink and they then can’t remember what happened, then there’s no credibility as a witness.”

“If you don’t capture evidence of their drink being spiked, it’s very difficult to hold perpetrators to account. Everything was difficult to prove. So that was a bit of a perfect crime.”

The four-parter focuses on Sarah and Laila (not their real names), played by Aimée-Ffion Edwards and Aasiya Shah, who reported sexual assaults by Worboys but felt they had not been believed by the police.

However, they fought back and won, thanks to the tenacity and compassion of Harriet and barrister Phillippa Kaufmann KC (played by Rachael Stirling).

The survivors approached Harriet as she was known for her work representing women who had been victims of sexual abuse or who had killed their abusive partners.

Crucially, she believed them. They took the unprecedented step to sue the Metropolitan Police under the Human Rights Act for their appalling failure to properly conduct investigations, claiming it led to them being subjected to degrading and distressing treatment.

Not only did they make the police answer for failings, with the Met losing appeals all the way to the Supreme Court in 2018, but they also triumphed just weeks later by overturning Worboys’ parole.

Harriet, 65, recalls: “Unlike in the drama, the two women actually approached me separately. I was aware of the case and there had been some publicity about the police failures, but the more I delved into it, the more I understood the extent of the problems. The police failed them so badly.”

Harriett went on to add: ““We thought there was little financial risk as the police would just want to get rid of the case and settle, but they decided to fight it all the way.”

She adds: “What struck me was the prolific nature of his offending. It wasn’t just that an individual woman was let down by poor police investigation, but that because she and others were let down, it enabled this man to gain strength and confidence, to perfect his technique, to continue doing it, hurting so many women over a period of time.”

Though Worboys was formally convicted in 2009 for crimes against 12 women and in 2019 for four more, legal representatives and police suspected the true number of victims exceeded 100 women.

In powerful scenes in the true crime drama, Sarah gets into Worboys’ taxi after a night out in 2003, reluctantly accepts the drink, then passes out. She wakes up in hospital certain she has been raped by the cab driver.

After invasive examinations and gruelling questioning, the police are dismissive and her case is dropped. In Laila’s story, she is also drugged and assaulted before being dumped outside her student accommodation.

During humiliating questioning, even her red nail varnish is used to question her integrity. Harriet warns: “There is a really dangerous narrative that women make up false complaints. It’s a nightmare. No one’s going to make it up and go through that process with what they have to go through. It’s really hard for women to do, it’s quite traumatic.”

“One of the things that you get from this story is a particular way in which men target women, that women feel like they have to be polite,” she said.

“Even if a man’s bothering them, they don’t necessarily want to just tell them to p*** off. The way in which Worboys really pushed and persuaded them to take a drink and a lot of them didn’t really want to, I think that will ring true for most women. It is really quite hard to resist when someone’s being like that. It makes you seem really horrible if you’re not just friendly.”

The drama also highlights the many ways in which police did not handle the case correctly. Harriet explains: “The police were looking for evidence of a date rape drug, which there wasn’t, so they dismissed it. But actually, when you looked at the toxicology results, there were all sorts of other drugs in their system. So the women were left confused, left to think they just got very drunk or something weird had happened. That was a pretty shocking aspect.”

Recalling her time on the case, she said: “I also remember at the time of the attacks, the Mayor of London was doing a big campaign about ‘Never use an unlicensed cab, always use a black cab’. I remember both of the women saying to me how horrible it was to see this campaign.”

Harriet has also acted for the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead by Met police officers in July 2005, as well as a number of women in successful appeals against their murder convictions, including Sally Challen, abused and coercively controlled by her husband, and Emma Humphreys, who killed her violent boyfriend and pimp.

She still works tirelessly to highlight failures in the police and criminal justice system regarding violence against women, though it can sometimes be tough to keep the emotions in check.

Harriet, also a founder member of the campaign group Justice for Women, says: “If you want to remain empathetic, you’ve got to travel the journey a bit, but also you need to have a bit of separation so that you’re useful to your client, rather than an emotional wreck.”

“It’s about holding their hands through the process, but however hard it is, it’s their choice, and they’re doing it because actually, seeking truth and justice can have its own healing effect,” Harriett continued.

The drama also features Miriam Petche as Carrie Symonds, now the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was targeted by Worboys in her youth and had a narrow escape.

Unbelievably, only eight years after Worboys was convicted for his crimes, his victims were made to fight again to keep him behind bars.

Carrie, by then a senior figure in the Conservative Party press team, spearheaded a huge media and political campaign pushing for the unprecedented review of the Parole Board’s decision.

Worboys’ parole was quashed and the bravery of these women resulted in significant changes to the law. His next parole hearing is due to be held in public in June.

Harriet, who describes her key legal battles in her book ‘Sister in Law: Fighting for Justice in a System Designed by Men’, reveals she never ever felt like giving up.

She says: “It always felt like the truth, the justice, was on our side, and you just have to find a way to get there.” During filming of Believe Me, Harriet visited the ITV set and met Motherland actor Philippa, who was apparently nervous to meet her.

Harriet says: “She’s based on me, she’s not trying to mimic who I am. I think she was quite shy. I did actually send a couple of notes to clarify a point and also to say, ‘Could you just maybe show a tiny bit more empathy at this point’.”

She adds: “I’m really pleased the story is being told. I’m keen to use the drama as a vehicle to raise awareness about ways in which you can actually hold the police accountable. We need to protect women and girls.

“There are prejudices, sexism, misogyny, and a culture of blaming women for getting themselves raped. Women are being failed all the time. It’s still a massive battle. What you’ll get from the drama is why those women do it, why they continue to fight – not for themselves, for all women.”

Believe Me airs on ITV and STV from tomorrow night, Sunday 10th May at 9pm, with all four episodes available to stream on ITVX and STV Player

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MANCHESTER CITY 3-0 BRENTFORD: Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush scored the all important goals to ensure Pep Guardiola’s side remain in touch with Arsenal in the title race

It may not rival Vincent Kompany’s wonderstrike vs Leicester or Rodri’s historic winner in Istanbul when it comes to the pantheon of great Manchester City goals.

But for the third time in a week, Jeremy Doku delivered when his team needed him most to keep them alive in the title race – and to pile the pressure back on Arsenal ahead of their seismic showdown with relegation-haunted West Ham on Sunday.

After Doku’s 97th minute screamer salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat in Monday night’s game with Everton, City knew there was no margin for error when Brentford rolled into town at The Etihad. To put it bluntly, anything but a win would pretty much make it game, set and match Arsenal in the title race.

And for an hour, it seemed as though only a Gunners implosion of absolutely epic proportions would deny Mikel Arteta and Co the domestic crown they have chased and craved so gamely for the last few years.

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But then, Doku produced what is fast becoming the Belgian’s trademark, bending a superb strike beyond the statuesque Caiomhin Kelleher and into the top corner.

The collective sigh of relief from around The Etihad could probably be heard all the way back in London, where all eyes will now turn to an Arsenal side who have form for being ground down by City in the championship rounds.

Erling Haaland plundered a second before Omar Marmoush added some gloss to a victory which, momentarily at least, puts City back to within two points of their title rivals. If Doku’s opener settled the nerves, Haaland’s scrappy goal extinguished them altogether. Marmoush’s added time strike was the icing on the cake.

This was not as comprehensive as the scoreline may suggest, though. City were booed off at the break after failing to break Brentford down despite accumulating 15 shots and enjoying 31 touches in the Bees’ penalty area.

The rather large caveat to those statistics was that just four shots found the target. But just as frustrations threatened to reach a simmering point, City found a way. Just as champions do.

Victory will not completely shift the trajectory of the title race. City are still the hunters; Arsenal started the day with the advantage and they were always going to end it in the ascendancy after City dropped points at Everton.

But this win means a first domestic title in a generation for the Gunners is not quite the foregone conclusion it would have been had City been unable to breach Brentford. And it means it’s now Arsenal’s turn to cope with the weight of expectation that comes with leading the league three games out from the post.

There were mixed emotions even in spite of Doku’s late goal against Everton. It didn’t feel like a point was enough. That may still prove to the case – but it certainly now feels a much better point that it did five days ago.

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A Labour MP has said she will trigger a leadership contest if the cabinet fails to move against Sir Keir Starmer by Monday.

Catherine West called on cabinet ministers to select a new leader in the wake of disastrous local election results for Labour.

West, who represents the north London seat of Hornsey and Friern Barnet, said it was impossible for Labour to recover with Starmer at the helm.

She told BBC Radio 4 Today: ‘This afternoon I would like the cabinet to come round the table and elect a leader among themselves, without humiliating the current leader Keir Starmer.’

The former parliamentary undersecretary of state for Indo-Pacific said if no candidate came forward to replace the prime minister, she would stand herself.

She hinted that Starmer could continue to have a role in government ‘doing international affairs’.

The Labour MP, who has represented her area since 2015, said she would seek 81 names needed to take to the party chairman to trigger a contest.

Starmer has vowed he will not resign and ‘plunge the country into chaos,’ although he admitted that the results were a tough pill to swallow.

He said today: ‘I’m not going to walk away from this, that would plunge the country into chaos.

‘But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to respond. It doesn’t mean we don’t need to rebuild. It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to set out the path ahead.

‘That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days’

Speculation over Starmer’s future as leader has mounted following Thursday’s election results, which have seen Labour swept from power in Wales and lose more than 1,000 English councillors.

The party also performed poorly in Scotland, where the SNP achieved a fourth successive victory in the Holyrood elections.

Several prominent backbenchers, mainly from the left of the party, have called on Starmer to go, including Clive Betts, John McDonnell and Jon Trickett, the latter who said the election results meant it was ‘curtains for Keir’.

Some, like West, however have suggested the party should elect a new leader without the drama of a leadership election over the summer.

However Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said the PM should stay in position.

She said: ‘Thinking that setting out some kind of timetable would put to bed the issues of leadership, I think is actually the wrong conclusion here.

‘Because all that would do is fire the starting gun of a, quite honestly, very distracting and ongoing debate about leadership.’

‘I don’t want to see a leadership challenge, that’s not how we operate in the Labour Party’, she added.

Several potential leadership contenders have yet to publicly comment on the results, including Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

Friday saw Reform surge in most areas of the country, taking control of several councils including Barnsley, Walsall and Havering, while the Green Party made significant inroads in London and other cities.

Starmer is set to use both a major speech on Monday and the King’s speech on Wednesday to attempt to reset the agenda.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the PM would ‘have my support’ when he sets out his government would move forward.

In the aftermath of the poll, Starmer has given new roles to party grandees Baroness Harman and former PM Gordon Brown.

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