'A ministerial merry-go-round!' John Healey grilled on Labour reshuffle as he claims Keir Starmer has 'raised the standards' amid Angela Rayner exit

Following the announcement of Angela Rayner's departure from Government, the Prime Minister was forced into a major cabinet reshuffle.

David Lammy has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, with Yvette Cooper moved to Foreign Secretary and Shabana Mahmood taking her position as Home Secretary.

Quizzing Mr Healey on the reshuffle, Camilla told the Defence Secretary: "The Government's reset this week has gone terribly badly wrong. Angela Rayner has now resigned, I think the public is looking at this Government thinking it's in complete chaos and crisis. It is, isn't it?"

Mr Healey disagreed: "On the contrary, what's happened this week is that Angela Rayner has found she's broken the ministerial code, she's taken the decision to resign, that's the right thing to do.

"And it's a reflection of the higher standards that Keir Starmer has insisted on in public life, the strength of the independent adviser and the toughening of the ministerial code."

Defending Angela Rayner, he added: "We've seen clean, swift, fair action taken, although it does mean that we've lost Angela Rayner, and I have to say that any Government is stronger if Angela Rayner is in it."

Interjecting Mr Healey, Camilla highlighted that the Prime Minister "didn't need to take legal advice" on Ms Rayner's wrongdoings.

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She stated: "Why does a former Director of Public Prosecutions, a top lawyer, need to take legal advice on whether or not a Deputy Prime Minister who has admitted to avoiding tax should or shouldn't be fired? Not only has he got legal training, but he's also, as he says himself, the son of a toolmaker, somebody who wants to lead a Government of service.

"You've got his right hand woman having admitted to avoiding tax at a time when this Government is preparing to put up all of our taxes, including on property, he didn't need to take any advice. Any person watching GB News could have advised him that she needed to go and she didn't, he didn't sack her. What does that say about his capacity to lead this Government adequately?"

Mr Healey fought back: "He toughened the rules, he raised the standards, he had that adviser do the job to establish the facts, and that was done within two days.

"It's important that there was an independent process to do that, it was swift, Angela Rayner respected the judgment and she resigned, and what Keir Starmer has done now is use this to reshuffle his cabinet, to say to us all, you've got to go up a gear now in order to demonstrate the delivery that we've done over the last year can be taken further."

Hitting back at the Defence Secretary, Camilla argued: "The public sees the Prime Minister on Monday tell everybody how great is Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is, and by Friday she's out of office. Shabana Mahmood has come in, everyone's been switched around on this ministerial merry-go-round, that doesn't inspire confidence, does it?

"For the Prime Minister on Monday to say everything's going swimmingly well, I don't really have to reshuffle and by Friday, having teared up the entire contents of his cabinet papers?"

Mr Healey told GB News: "On Yvette Cooper, we've seen in this last year some important progress, 35,000 people deported from this country, higher than before because they've got no right to be here, and now for the first time, illegal immigrants held, detained and ready to return to France because of what Yvette Cooper has been able to negotiate with the French Government for the first time.

"So Shabana Mahmood has a lot more to do, and this will become a whole of Government effort, not just something for the Home Office."