As if to demonstrate that there was not a minute to waste, a slightly bleary-eyed but still laser-focused Keir Starmer walked into the state dining room in Downing Street at 1pm on Saturday for his first press conference as prime minister.
It was less than 24 hours since King Charles had offered him his congratulations at Buckingham Palace, but also his sympathy, saying to Starmer that he must have been “exhausted” and “nearly on your knees”, having hardly slept the night before.
