Starmer squirms over foreign criminals

‘Too clever by half’ was the verdict of many pundits when it was revealed that Sir Keir had been tapping up Sue Gray as his chief of staff. And it seems that the Labour leader is at it again, holding a big press conference today to talk about his ‘mission’ to tackle crime – less than 24 days after Boris Johnson’s evidence session in an all-too-obvious contrast.

Unfortunately, while Sir Keir likes to talk tough on crime, his record is anything but. Straight after delivering his speech, the Labour leader refused to apologise for signing a letter in 2020 calling for 50 dangerous offenders not to be deported on a flight to Jamaica. Instead Starmer chose to boast;

I stand proudly by my record… If there’s a problem with the criminal justice system then ask yourself, who broke it? If there’s a problem with our asylum and deportation system, then ask yourself, who broke it? You can’t blame the opposition for the government’s failures.

Back in his Corbynista cosplaying of early 2020 Sir Keir demanded that ‘all future (deportation) charter flights must be suspended’ — and even suggested they be handed taxpayer-funded phones to assist them in their attempts to stay in Britain. However the Sun has now revealed that at least seven of those 50 criminals went on to commit more violent or drug-related crimes following the intervention.

Starmer’s refusal to apologise wasn’t the only awkward moment in his big speech. He also chose to talk about the victims of the ‘grooming scandals like Rochdale’ – which begs the question as to why his party chose as its candidate in Rother Valley a local councillor who was forced to quit Rotherham Council’s cabinet following a damning report into the authority’s negligence of local children. The candidate in question only stood down after a media outcry.

Tough on crime? Maybe when the cameras are around…