Labour insiders fear Starmer’s past could come back to haunt him as Tories plan to ramp up attacks
Labour insiders have expressed concern about Tory plans to ramp up attacks on Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure as director of public prosecutions, Sky News can reveal.
The Labour leader has repeatedly referenced his time leading the Crown Prosecution Service between 2008 and 2013 as a core part of his political pitch to voters.
At PMQs earlier this month, he boasted: “I have prosecuted thousands upon thousands of sex offenders. The prime minister has just shown that he does not understand how the criminal justice system works. No wonder he cannot fix it.”
But some Labour Party insiders have reservations about this approach, with one telling Sky News: “If your record involves as many controversies as Keir Starmer, it’s probably not great political strategy to draw attention to it.”
Staffers in the attack unit at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) have been combing through cases for more than a year.
Senior Tory sources say they believe Sir Keir’s past is a vulnerability they can exploit, having identified a number of examples they think will change the public’s view of the Labour leader.
Keir Starmer in 2009, when he was director of public prosecutions
Red Knight, the unauthorised biography of Sir Keir by Tory pollster Lord Ashcroft, has emerged as what some in CCHQ see as an attack bible – chronicling controversial cases, including the prosecution of journalists for phone hacking.
“There’s a lot of material out there,” a senior Conservative source explains.
“One of the areas where Starmer is really open to criticism is this constant claiming that he personally prosecuted this person or that person, and then when something went wrong and someone wasn’t prosecuted, or the case was messed up, he says ‘It’s nothing to do with me’.
“You can’t have it both ways – the person at the top of the organisation is responsible and is the one who will have to issue a public apology when things go wrong.”
Sky News can reveal that one such case that the Tories will use to attack the Labour leader in the coming months is the so-called “Twitter joke trial” of 2010.
The controversial case hit the headlines when Paul Chambers from South Yorkshire was found guilty at Doncaster Magistrates Court for sending a “menacing” tweet about wanting to blow Robin Hood Airport “sky high” because it was closed due to snow.
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Starmer clashes with Sunak over criminal justice
Mr Chambers said he did not think his “silly joke”, which he sent in January 2010, would be taken seriously – but he was nevertheless arrested and charged under the Communications Act, for sending messages of a “grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing character”.
Mr Chambers subsequently appealed his case and won, with a number of high-profile comedians including Stephen Fry, Al Murray and Graham Linehan all backing him.
Labour sources expressed concern that the case could play into the caricature the Tories have painted of Sir Keir as “Sir Softie” – the “lefty lawyer” they hope to portray as out of touch and too politically correct.
The Tories insist their main focus is establishing their own “competence of government” following a series of scandals and leadership dramas.
But with the local elections just around the corner and the general election fast approaching, “you can expect this sort of stuff to come out”, the Conservative source says.
The first public attack on Sir Keir’s past record came when former prime minister Boris Johnson accused the Labour leader of failing to prosecute the former television presenter and prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile.
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‘More to come’: Labour defends attack ads
The Labour leader hit back strongly against the claim, which he perceived as a slur, and pointed out that he was not the lawyer responsible for reviewing the case.
However, as head of the DPP, others argued that he bore the ultimate responsibility.
It is a viewpoint some believe Labour has endorsed itself with its recent attack ads against the prime minister – the most controversial of which suggested Mr Sunak did not think child sexual abusers should go to prison.
Some Labour sources fear the personal nature of the criticism against Mr Sunak – as well as the suggestion that he personally is responsible for the past 13 years – could “legitimise” any further Tory attacks on Sir Keir’s record as DPP.
One Labour insider said the ad had “deflected attention from Labour’s positive message and what the Tories have done to the country and onto trivia and Starmer’s record.”
They added: “If your record involves as many controversies as Keir Starmer, it’s probably not great political strategy to draw attention to it. In fact, it’s more like a case study of what not to do.”
Another party source said: “One of the problems with the ad is that it makes Keir’s record as DPP fair game. I’m sure the Tories were going to attack it anyway, but now we’ve just invited it on.”
The Labour Party defended the controversial tweet about the PM
But one shadow cabinet member who spoke to Sky News dismissed the idea the ads have spurred on the Tories’ efforts to attack Sir Keir.
“The Tories will always get down and dirty in their campaign because that’s what they do.
“They can hit us as hard as they like, but Keir’s record as DPP is really strong – he’s locked up thousands of dangerous criminals and terrorists – while they literally broke the law in Downing Street.
“If they open up this as an attack, our defence will be stronger than their attack. You’re either up for the fight or you’re not – but we are and we intend to win it.
“Bring it on.”
Read more:
Local elections 2023: Red wall set to abandon Conservatives, projection suggests
Labour ‘attack ads’, the political campaigns that have cut through and their impact on elections
Labour takes inspiration from Australia with Sunak attack ads – but they need more to pull off a proper ousting
A Labour spokesperson said Sir Keir would continue to point to his experience as a reason voters should place their trust in him:
“As the country’s most senior prosecutor, Keir Starmer got criminals off the streets, locked up terrorists and prosecuted MPs who cheated their expenses.
“At the heart of his approach were victims; their rights, their confidence in the system and securing them justice. Keir was a reforming director of public prosecutions, acting where he saw failure and driving through change when it was needed. He is rightly proud of his record.”
World
Russia wants ‘quick peace’ in Ukraine and London is ‘head of those resisting it’, ambassador to UK tells Sky News
Russia wants “quick peace” in Ukraine and London is at the “head of those resisting” it, the Russian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.
In an interview on The World With Yalda Hakim, Andrei Kelin accused the UK, France and other European nations of not wanting to end the war in Ukraine.
“We are prepared to negotiate and to talk,” he said. “We have our position. If we can strike a negotiated settlement… we need a very serious approach to that and a very serious agreement about all of that – and about security in Europe.”
Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin speaks to Yalda Hakim
US President Donald Trump held a surprise phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last month, shocking America’s European allies. He went on to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and relations between the pair were left in tatters after a meeting in the Oval Office descended into a shouting match.
Days later, the US leader suspended military aid to Ukraine, though there were signs the relationship between the two leaders appeared to be on the mend following the contentious White House meeting last week, with Mr Trump saying he “appreciated” a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying Kyiv was ready to sign a minerals agreement with Washington “at any time”.
In his interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Mr Kelin said he was “not surprised” the US has changed its position on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, claiming Mr Trump “knows the history of the conflict”.
“He knows history and is very different from European leaders,” he added.
No doubt Russia is welcoming shift in world order
I’ve interviewed the Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, on a number of occasions, at times the conversation has been tense and heated.
But today, I found a diplomat full of confidence and cautiously optimistic.
The optics of course have suddenly changed in Russia’s favour since Donald Trump was elected.
I asked him if Russia couldn’t believe its luck. “I would not exaggerate this too much,” he quipped.
Mr Kelin also “categorically” ruled out European troops on the ground and said the flurry of diplomatic activity and summits over the course of the past few weeks is not because Europeans want to talk to Moscow but because they want to present something to Mr Trump.
He appeared to relish the split the world is witnessing in transatlantic relations.
Of course the ambassador remained cagey about the conversations that have taken place between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.
There is no doubt however that Russia is welcoming what Mr Kelin says is a shift in the world order.
Peace deal ‘should recognise Russian advances’
The Russian ambassador said Moscow had told Washington it believed its territorial advances in Ukraine “should be recognised” as part of any peace deal.
“What we will need is a new Ukraine as a neutral, non-nuclear state,” he said. “The territorial situation should be recognised. These territories have been included in our constitution and we will continue to push that all forces of the Ukrainian government will leave these territories.”
Asked if he thought the Americans would agree to give occupied Ukrainian land to Russia, he said: “I don’t think we have discussed it seriously. [From] what I have read, the Americans actually understand the reality.”
Read more:
What you need to know from a monumental week in Ukraine
US ‘destroying’ world order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’
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In full: Russian ambassador’s interview with Sky’s Yalda Hakim
Moscow rules out NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine
He said Russia “categorically ruled out” the prospect of NATO peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine – a proposal made by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron – saying “they have no rules of engagement” and so would just be “sitting in cities”.
“It’s senseless” and “not for reality,” Mr Kelin added.
He branded the temporary ceasefire raised by Mr Zelenskyy “a crazy idea”, and said: “We will never accept it and they perfectly are aware of that.
“We will only accept the final version, when we are going to sign it. Until then things are very shaky.”
He added: “We’re trying to find a resolution on the battlefield, until the US administration suggest something constructive.”
World
US ‘destroying’ international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’, Ukraine’s UK ambassador warns
The United States is “finally destroying” the international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia “halfway”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has warned.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Washington’s recent actions in relation to Moscow could lead to the collapse of NATO – with Europe becoming Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s next target.
“The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular,” he told a conference at the Chatham House think tank.
Ukraine latest: ‘Watershed moment’ as Kremlin blasts Macron
“We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.”
Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters
Mr Zaluzhnyi, who took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to London in 2024 following three years as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, also warned that the White House had “questioned the unity of the whole Western world” – suggesting NATO could cease to exist as a result.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scrambles to repair relations with US President Donald Trump following a dramatic row between the two men in the Oval Office last week.
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Mr Trump signalled on Tuesday that tensions could be easing, telling Congress he had received a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying he was ready to sign a peace deal “at any time”.
Zelenskyy and Trump during their extraordinary Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Read more:
New Zealand fires UK envoy for Trump comments
US stops sharing all intelligence with Ukraine
But on the same day, the US president ordered a sudden freeze on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine, and Washington has since paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and halted cyber operations against Russia.
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Mr Zaluzhnyi said the pause in cyber operations and an earlier decision by the US to oppose a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were “a huge challenge for the entire world”.
He added that talks between the US and Russia – “headed by a war criminal” – showed the White House “makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway”, warning Moscow’s next target “could be Europe”.
World
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people
Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is a sprawling mass of humanity.Â
It’s a sea of makeshift bamboo shelters, home to more than one million Rohingya refugees – a mainly Muslim minority from Rakhine state in Myanmar.
Some 700,000 fled their homeland back in 2017 – after the Myanmar military massacred thousands.
The army was accused of genocide by the United Nations.
The Rohingya refugees didn’t escape danger though.
Right now, violence is at its worst levels in the camps since 2017 and Rohingya people face a particularly cruel new threat – they’re being forced back to fight for the same Myanmar military accused of trying to wipe out their people.
A child at the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar
Militant groups are recruiting Rohingya men in the camps, some at gunpoint, and taking them back to Myanmar to fight for a force that’s losing ground.
Jaker is just 19.
We’ve changed his name to protect his identity.
He says he was abducted at gunpoint last year by a group of nine men in Cox’s.
They tied his hands with rope he says and took him to the border where he was taken by boat with three other men to fight for the Myanmar military.
“It was heartbreaking,” he told me. “They targeted poor children. The children of wealthy families only avoided it by paying money.”
And he says the impact has been deadly.
“Many of our Rohingya boys, who were taken by force from the camps, were killed in battle.”
Jaker speaks to Sky’s Cordelia Lynch
An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar
The situation in Cox’s is desperate.
People are disillusioned by poverty, violence and the plight of their own people and the civil war they ran from is getting worse.
In Rakhine, just across the border, there’s been a big shift in dynamics.
The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group has all but taken control of the state from the ruling military junta.
Both the military and the AA are accused of committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.
And whilst some Rohingya claim they’re being forced into the fray – dragged back to Myanmar from Bangladesh, others are willing to go.
Read more from Sky News:
Bangladesh leader reacts to ‘House of Mirrors’ prison
Inside Bangladesh’s ‘death squad’ jails
Sri Lanka rescues more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees
Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar – where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River
Some are so aggrieved with the AA, they’re willing to support their former persecutors.
Abu Zar is one of those willing to take up arms.
But not for the military or AA, he says.
Everyone praying in the mosque with him is prepared to go back to protect their own cause he says – not anyone else’s.
“We want to fight for our rights because we have been demanding justice for a long time. But the situation has become unbearable,” he tells me.
Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause
It’s estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Rohingya have joined armed groups from this camp.
But the fight they are joining has become increasingly bloody.
In a cramped shelter, we meet Safura.
Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar
Safura’s son Aman had his foot blown off
Five days ago she managed to get out of Myanmar but she had to be carried part of the way.
Her legs are riddled with bullet wounds and the pain is severe.
Her son, Aman, who lies on the floor next to her, has had his foot blown off.
They were injured she said, during an attack on her family home in the middle of the night.
“They entered our house and shot all my family members. My husband and mother-in-law were killed on the spot.”
The military denies forcing Rohingya to the battlefield. But the camps tell a different story- one of surging violence and vulnerability.
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