A Welsh Labour MP has quit Sir Keir Starmer’s government, urging him to set out a timetable for his departure “in the country’s interest”.

Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones resigned from the Home Office, the third junior minister to go, describing last week’s election results as “catastrophic” for Labour, and calling for “radical action”.

Two other Welsh Labour MPs are also among 80 now saying Sir Keir must resign now or draw up a departure schedule, but he insists he is not resigning.

Earlier, deputy Welsh Labour leader Carolyn Harris said the party’s MPs should support the prime minister after Sir Keir’s allies publicly backed him as they left a high-stakes cabinet meeting.

In her resignation letter, Davies-Jones, Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “It is with a very, heavy heart that I feel I have no choice but to resign.

“The scale of the electoral defeats at the Senedd Cymru and across the United Kingdom have been catastrophic.

“The country has spoken and we must listen. We waited 14 years to get into power and change the lives of those we represent.

“The time now is for bold, radical action. I know you to be a good and honest man.

“I implore you to act in the country’s interest and set out a timetable for your departure.”

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens left the cabinet meeting without comment, but made it known beforehand she was loyal to the prime minister.

At the Downing Street meeting Sir Keir vowed to “get on with governing” and told his top team a leadership contest had not been triggered.

After several cabinet ministers spoke to reporters.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, seen as a likely leadership rival, ignored questions from journalists.

In a social media post posted later, Harris, MP for Neath and Swansea East, said the Labour government had delivered results including cutting NHS waiting lists and improving workers’ rights.

She added: “A leadership contest would be a distraction at a time when the country is facing serious challenges at home and abroad.

“Keir Starmer should be given the opportunity to deliver the change we promised and get on with the job.”

She and others, she said, had orchestrated a statement backing the prime minister because they are angry about the current situation.

“As long as Keir Starmer wants to be the prime minister of this country we are there to support him.

“He is the only person at this moment in time who can do this job. It’s a huge job, the country needs him, the country wants him and we need to make sure that he stays there.”

Gower Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that she thought Sir Keir’s time was up.

“Those election results last week speak for themselves, and that’s why, the best thing to do is to do it quickly, to put somebody in as a caretaker prime minister and move forward.”

She said she would back Sir Keir’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, for the role, described him as “an absolutely brilliant man”.

Newport West and Islwyn Labour MP Ruth Jones has also said the prime minister should set out a timetable for his resignation.

Last week, Labour suffered a bruising set of elections across Britain.

The party emerged from a catastrophic Senedd election with just nine seats in an expanded 96-member chamber.

Plaid Cymru is expected to lead the first non-Labour Welsh government, ending a century of winning elections in Wales.

The election also saw Labour first minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat, leading to her resignation as the leader of Welsh Labour.

Labour also lost almost 1,500 councillors in local elections across England and slumped to its worst ever result in the Scottish Parliament. (BBC)

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