In what state has this internal conflict leave Britain's government?
"It's hardly been our strongest 24 hours since the election," a senior figure close to power conceded after political attacks from multiple sides, some in public, much more behind closed doors.
It began with anonymous briefings to the media, among others, suggesting Sir Keir would resist any effort to remove him - and that senior ministers, particularly the Health Secretary, were plotting leadership bids.
The Health Secretary insisted his loyalty remained to the PM and urged the individuals responsible for the briefings to lose their positions, while the Prime Minister declared that negative comments targeting government officials were considered "inappropriate".
Questions regarding if the Prime Minister had approved the initial leaks to flush out possible rivals - and whether the sources were doing so with his awareness, or consent, were introduced amid the controversy.
Would there be a probe regarding sources? Might there be terminations at what Streeting called a "hostile" Number 10 operation?
What were individuals near Starmer hoping to achieve?
There have been numerous phone calls to piece together the real situation and in what position all this places Keir Starmer's government.
Stand two key facts central to this situation: the government faces low approval and so is the PM.
These realities act as the primary motivation underlying the constant discussions I hear concerning what the government is planning to address it and possible consequences regarding the duration Starmer carries on in Downing Street.
Now considering the fallout of this political fighting.
Damage Control
Starmer and Wes Streeting spoke on the phone Wednesday night to resolve differences.
It's understood Sir Keir apologised to Wes Streeting in the brief call and they agreed to talk more extensively "in the near future".
The conversation avoided the chief of staff, the prime minister's chief of staff - who has turned into a central figure for criticism ranging from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in public to Labour figures at all levels confidentially.
Widely credited as the mastermind of the political success and the political brain guiding the PM's fast progression following his transition from previous role, he is also among the first to face scrutiny whenever the Prime Minister's office seems to have experienced difficulties or failures.
There's no response to media inquiries, amid calls for his removal.
Detractors maintain that within the Prime Minister's office where he is expected to make plenty of big political judgements, he must accept accountability for these developments.
Different sources within assert no staff member was responsible for any briefing about government members, post the Health Secretary's comments the individuals behind it ought to be dismissed.
Political Fallout
Within Downing Street, there is a tacit acknowledgement that Wes Streeting managed a round of scheduled media appearances recently with dignity, aplomb and humour - although encountering persistent queries concerning his goals since the reports concerning him happened recently.
For some Labour MPs, he demonstrated flexibility and communication skills they hope Starmer demonstrated.
It also won't have gone unnoticed that various of the leaks that tried to shore up the PM led to a chance for Streeting to declare he shared the sentiment of his colleagues who characterized Number 10 as problematic and biased while adding the individuals responsible for the reports must be fired.
A complicated scenario.
"My commitment stands" - the Health Secretary denies plan to contest leadership as Prime Minister.
Government Response
The PM, it's reported, is furious about the way the situation has unfolded and is looking into the sequence of events.
What looks to have malfunctioned, from the administration's viewpoint, is both scale and focus.
First, the administration expected, maybe optimistically, thought that the reports would produce some news, rather than wall-to-wall leading stories.
The reality proved to be much louder than predicted.
This analysis suggests a prime minister permitting these issues be known, through allies, less than 18 months after a landslide general election win, was always going to be front page major news – as it turned out to be, in various publications.
Additionally, on emphasis, officials claim they didn't anticipate such extensive discussion regarding the Health Secretary, later greatly amplified by all those interviews planned in advance the other day.
Different sources, certainly, determined that that was precisely the goal.
Broader Implications
These are another few days when government officials talk about learning experiences and on the backbenches numerous are annoyed at what they see as a ridiculous situation playing out that they have to first watch then justify.
Ideally avoiding these actions.
However, an administration and a prime minister displaying concern regarding their situation is even bigger {than their big majority|their parliamentary advantage|their