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A minister has called for “respectful and measured” language to be used by politicians after Rishi Sunak made a jibe about Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on transgender issues while the mother of murdered Brianna Ghey was in parliament.

So far, there has been no apology from the government for the prime minister’s remarks, despite Brianna’s father Peter Spooner calling them “degrading” and “absolutely dehumanising”.

Mr Sunak was criticised for aiming the political dig about transgender people at Sir Keir, saying the Labour leader had broken promises on “defining a woman” while Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, was in parliament.

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Chris Philp, the policing minister, refused numerous times to apologise for the prime minister while speaking to Sky News on Thursday morning – despite the fact Brianna’s family had asked for one.

However, he said: “I think there is a wider point here for politicians, for journalists, for everybody to keep in mind when there are very sensitive issues being discussed, to always use respectful and measured language, lest there are unintended consequences.”

Brianna Ghey
Pic:Cheshire Police
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Brianna Ghey. Pic: Cheshire Police

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Chants of ‘shame’ at PM in parliament after transgender jibe

When asked whether the prime minister should apologise, Mr Philp suggested Mr Sunak shouldn’t because he was talking about Sir Keir’s “numerous flip flops and U-turns on all kinds of different issues”.

He added that the prime minister later paid a “very fulsome tribute to Brianna and her family and the courage they’ve shown in what have been very difficult circumstances”.

Asked why the prime minister hadn’t apologised despite the comments from Brianna’s father, Mr Philp repeated: “(Mr Sunak) was talking very clearly about Keir Starmer’s flip flops and U-turns. It was very clear.”

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Mr Philp later insisted that the prime minister was referring to Sir Keir’s stance on trans issues and “didn’t even come close to mentioning Brianna”.

The policing minister added that Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan wants to meet with Brianna’s mother to talk about issues related to social media that were relevant in the case of her death.

Brianna, 16, was murdered by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe who were both 15 when the schoolgirl was stabbed to death in a Cheshire park last February.

Last week, Jenkinson was jailed for at least 22 years and Ratcliffe for a minimum of 20 years.

The pair, who are both 16, will be transferred to adult prisons when they turn 18.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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