Sir Keir Starmer has said a controversial Labour attack advert targeting Rishi Sunak is not racist, and that he stands by its content.
The opposition party was accused of “gutter politics” over the graphic, which claims that the prime minister does not want people who sexually assault children to go to prison.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Sir Keir said: “I think if he did think they should go to prison he’d do something about it.
“I stand by the advert. I think that as prime minister, you take responsibility for what happens in your criminal justice system. He is not taking responsibility for it.”
The graphic, shared to social media, includes a large picture of the prime minister, and asks: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison?”
It adds, in capital letters: “Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”
The advert’s small print cites data from the Ministry of Justice showing that, since 2010, 4,500 adults convicted of sex acts with children have avoided a prison sentence.
Critics have pointed out that Mr Sunak only became an MP in 2015, and that Sir Keir himself, as director of public prosecutions, actually sat on the 2012 review of the sentencing guidelines for such offences.
Others have alleged that the advert is racist because it seems to play into far-right stereotypes about grooming gangs and Asian men.
But asked whether the advert was racist, Sir Keir told Sky News’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday programme: “No of course it’s not. Of course it’s not.
“No. There’s a huge underanalysis of the figures here, and I looked at this when I was director of public prosecutions. The vast majority of child sexual offences are not by people of Asian origin or anything else.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with Ridge, the Labour leader also accused Mr Sunak of being out of touch on public services and the cost of living crisis.
And he claimed that the Tories should make gains at next week’s local elections, despite polls showing they are likely to do badly. He said the governing party was starting from a very low base and should expect to pick up some seats.
Asked about Sir Keir’s comments on the attack ad, Tory transport secretary Mark Harper said: “I think people listening to that will think that’s nonsense. You judge people, I think, in politics, by what they do.”
Noting that Mr Sunak had set up a taskforce to look into the problem of grooming gangs, the cabinet minister said: “I don’t think anyone’s turning around pretending that Keir Starmer was responsible for all of those sentences that took place when he was a member of the Sentencing Council, and actually responsible for setting those rules.
“The fact is, if he’s going to apply his own argument, then he has to say that he’s guilty of the same things he’s accusing the prime minister of. I just don’t think it’s a very good way to conduct politics.”
Mr Harper added: “It’s a very disappointing approach from him, but I don’t actually think the public will buy it.”
During the exchange with Ridge, Sir Keir said he would “carry the can” for decisions taken by the Crown Prosecution Service while he was director of public prosecutions.
Sky News reports that senior Conservatives are considering using Sir Keir’s comments to assign blame to him for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile. The decision not to charge the late television presenter was made while Sir Keir was director of public prosecutions, but did not directly involve him.
