Sir Keir Starmer is weighing up his political future as pressure grows on him to announce his resignation, BBC reported. 

It comes as cabinet ally Peter Kyle said the prime minister was considering "political realities" after Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election last week cleared a path for him to challenge for the Labour leadership.

In the wake of the result, the prime minister has faced fresh pleas from senior ministers to effectively make way for Burnham by setting out a timetable for his departure.