Keir Starmer urged to apologise over ‘dog whistle’ tweet about Rishi Sunak
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to apologise over a Labour social media post which claimed Rishi Sunak doesn’t think child sex abusers should go to prison.
The party has been accused of “gutter politics” and criticised by its own MPs after posting a message on its official Twitter account vowing to “lock up dangerous criminals”.
The tweet pointed to data from the Ministry of Justice showing that 4,500 adults convicted of sex acts on children avoided a prison sentence since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
It said: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”
The language has been widely criticised, with many drawing comparisons to Boris Johnson’s false claim last year that Sir Keir failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.
Veteran Labour MP John McDonnell said: “This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in.
“I say to the people who have taken the decision to publish this ad, please withdraw it. We, the Labour Party, are better than this.”
Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi also condemned Labour’s tweet while hitting out at her own party for triggering an “appalling fight into the gutter”.
She said: “Dog whistle met by dog whistle.
“Disgraceful comments by Braverman over the weekend has triggered an appalling fight into the gutter.
“At what point are we going to talk about the victims? Where is the protection for the half million kids sexually exploited in our country every yr.”
Last week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed Labour-run areas failed to stop child grooming gangs over fears they would be called “racist”.
The row has renewed calls for tighter laws around political campaigning, as both main parties seek to sell themselves as strong on law and order ahead of the local elections.
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A new taskforce will be made up of officers with ‘extensive experience’ of grooming gangs investigations to provide ‘crucial support’ to police forces across England.
Row shows need for law ‘requiring honesty in politics’
Compassion in Politics, a campaign group working to “clean up” public debate in Britain, called on Sir Keir to withdraw the ad and apologise.
“This kind of political discourse poisons the water that we all must drink from. It drives up hate and drags down standards,” Co-director Jennifer Nadel told Sky News.
“Sir Keir Starmer has rightly identified that the public want to see politicians act with respect, dignity, and decency. He can start by pulling this ad from circulation and issuing an immediate apology.”
Compassion in Politics has worked with lawyers to create a new bill which would make it a criminal offence for politicians to lie to the public, punishable by a fine or jail.
The bill is being sponsored by Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts while over 200,000 people have signed a petition backing it.
Ms Nadel said incidents like this show why “going forwards, we need to look at the levers we can pull to really clean up our politics”.
“We would introduce a law to require that political communications are based on honesty and truth and to ensure that breaches of the founding principles of our democracy – accountability, respect, and toleration – can be investigated and acted upon,” she said.
“If we’re to solve the problems we face as a nation and build a country that is inclusive, caring, and prosperous we have to start working together to achieve that goal.”
Labour declined to comment on the backlash to the tweet.
A spokesman for the party said: “The Conservatives have left dangerous convicted criminals free to roam the streets.
“Labour is the party of law and order, and we will implement tougher sentences for dangerous criminals.”
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
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Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm took second place following his switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old’s estimated total earnings were around $260m (£205m) – an all-time high for a football player.
Jon Rahm came in second. Pic: Jeff Faughender/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
His on-field earnings amounted to $200m (£158m) while off-field he earned $60m (£47m) thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.
Rahm earned $218m (£172m) and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi. Pic: David Kirouac/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Third on the list is record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who switched to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, which helped the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m (£107m).
The 36-year-old earned $65m (£51m) in on-field earnings but $70m (£55m) off it from deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James came in fourth at $128m (£101m), while fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks made fifth with $111m (£88m).
France football captain Kylian Mbappe dropped down to sixth with $110m (£87m).
Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh with $108m (£85m), despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.
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French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth on the list with $106m (£84m), followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with $102m (£80m).
Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list, in 10th place with $101m (£80m), thanks to the signing bonus negotiated into his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.
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