Starmer comes under increasing pressure over Sunak attack announcement but defies backlash with second post

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Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure to remove an 'appalling' attack ad that claims Rishi Sunak doesn't think child molesters should go to jail.

< p>Labour has been accused of ‘gutter politics’ over the social media post, which has been condemned by politicians across the political spectrum as well as Labor supporters prominent.

The Independent also understands that members of Sir Keir's own shadow cabinet are not comfortable with the tactic. One Labor MP, Ghost Culture Secretary Lucy Powell, refused to endorse the ad when asked, although she said she didn't think it should be taken down.

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But the party said it was sticking to the chart - and then doubled down, issuing a second announcement suggesting the Prime Minister does not believe those convicted of possession of firearms fire with intent to harm should be jailed.

An outcry erupted on Friday morning after the Labor Party published a photo of Mr Sunak alongside the words: 'Do you think adults convicted of child molestation should go to jail? Rishi Sunak does not.

In the same article, the Labor Party describes itself as "the party of law and order". Crime is a key battleground ahead of local elections in May.

Denis MacShane, who served as a cabinet minister in Tony Blair's government, slammed the ad, saying Labor "don't shouldn't go into [the] gutter”.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urged his party to withdraw it, saying: 'This is not the kind of politics in which a Labor Party, confident in its own values ​​and preparing to govern, should commit. .. please remove it.

Tory MP and Science Minister George Freeman called the initial advert "a new low in British politics" and denounced it as "appalling".

And the Chairman of the Commons Defense Select Committee, Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, said: 'I called it my side for stooping and I'm doing it again now. " He warned that if such attacks became commonplace, they could "deter people from entering politics".

La condemnation of the ad came from all sides of t...