Sir Keir Starmer has said he will make ‘absolutely zero apologies’ for his party’s adverts attacking Rishi Sunak.
Labour provoked Tory fury with posters which claimed the Prime Minister does not think child sex abusers or thieves should go to prison.
Critics, including hardliners in his own party, described it as gutter politics. But the Opposition leader is standing by his party’s stance, writing in the Mail tomorrow that he backs ‘every word Labour has said’ on crime, ‘no matter how squeamish it might make some feel’.
His comments, in an exclusive article, sparked a fresh backlash last night. In his article Sir Keir says: ‘I make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt about this. I stand by every word Labour has said on the subject. When 4,500 child abusers avoid prison, people don’t want more excuses from politicians – they want answers.’
Sir Keir also says the Tories are ‘insulated’ from the effects of crime, adding: ‘Rishi Sunak and successive Tory governments have let criminals get away with it because they don’t get it.
Sir Keir Starmer’s comments saying he would not apologise for the campaign sparked a fresh backlash last night
Labour came under fire from its own supporters on Thursday when it posted the first of its attack adverts on Twitter (pictured here)
‘They have never lived in those neighbourhoods… they have never walked in those shoes. I have. I know exactly who suffers when government goes soft on crime: not those insulated from its effects, but ordinary, decent people.’
His decision to back the posters is set to provoke fresh anger among senior figures in the party. It emerged yesterday that Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who is in charge of Labour’s crime policy, was not informed about the campaign.
But her intervention triggered a briefing war, with an insider telling the Mail on Sunday: ‘If Yvette disagrees so strongly with pointing out the Tories’ dismal record on crime, she knows where the door is. She still has delusions of being leader but leaders don’t stab people in the back.’
Referencing Ms Cooper’s comments, a Tory source told the Mail tonight: ‘If Sir Keir Softie can’t even control events in Labour HQ, how could he possibly be trusted to run a country?’
The source added that the leader’s refusal to apologise for the attack ads was ‘yet another example of Starmer’s Labour saying what they think is politically convenient in any given week’.
‘All Labour has achieved is drawing attention to Sir Softie’s activist lawyer past where he campaigned for terrorists and paedophiles. Only the Conservatives can be trusted to keep this country safe,’ they added.
Labour came under fire from its own supporters on Thursday when it posted the first of its attack adverts on Twitter.
Alongside a photo of the Prime Minister, the image read: ‘Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.’ The poster also added below: ‘Under the Tories, 4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under-16 served no prison time.’
It emerged yesterday that Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured with Sir Keir last week), who is in charge of Labour’s crime policy, was not informed about the campaign
Pictured here is another one of the attack adverts posted on Thursday by the Labour Party
However, judges and magistrates, rather than prime ministers, are responsible for handing out sentences. And the figures highlighted cover the period since 2010 – yet Mr Sunak only entered Parliament in 2015 and did not become Prime Minister until October last year.
In fact, Sir Keir was on the Sentencing Council for some of the period referred to in the ads as the director of public prosecutions. He sat on the council in 2012 when it was agreed child sex abusers should not get an automatic prison sentence, although a maximum of 14 years in custody was set.
The poster was branded ‘one of the worst political adverts in recent UK history’ with critics – including those on the Left – urging Labour to take it down.
But the next day, the party posted another image – this time suggesting Mr Sunak believes adults convicted of possessing a gun with intent to harm should not go to prison.
And on Saturday, Labour shared another which suggested Mr Sunak does not believe thieves should be punished.
Some party insiders think the furore plays well for Labour’s electoral prospects but a host of senior figures have lambasted the tactic.
The party’s former home secretary Lord Blunkett wrote in the Mail that the ‘gutter’ attacks left him ‘close to despair’ – and that Labour is ‘better than this’.
And shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell sought to distance herself from the posters, saying: ‘I didn’t design the graphic, it’s not my graphic.’ But shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry defended the ads – though admitted that some people ‘felt uncomfortable about it’.
Labour is said to have held talks with political allies in America and Australia, including Paul Erickson who masterminded Anthony Albanese’s general election victory last year. A source told the Mail tonight that the party is ‘determined to take the fight to the Tories’.
‘They may not be used to a Labour Party that wants to campaign on law and order but it’s important to Keir Starmer and he wants voters to be in no doubt that we’re on their side,’ they added.
