Sir Keir’s lapse of judgment

Following the latest release of court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, appeared to suggest that the Metropolitan Police should look into allegations of sexual abuse made against Prince Andrew.

Speaking during an interview with LBC, Sir Keir said that “wherever there’s a complaint made it’s inevitable that it should be looked at”. This attempt to insert his own views into proceedings was met with short shrift from the Met, which stated that while it was “aware of the release of court documents”, “no investigation has been launched”. Furthermore, there has been no complaint to the Met.

Sir Keir, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, should be well aware of the need for the justice system to be seen to be free of political interference. For a man with aspirations to serve as this country’s prime minister, his commentary represented a stunning lapse in judgement. The time to raise his concerns was in 2011, when the story came to light, and he was still head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

If Sir Keir wins the keys to Downing Street, it is important that he refrains from suggesting when the Met should be investigating someone. Indeed, one might imagine he would avoid any questions regarding criminal inquiries, given his efforts to distance himself from the CPS’s failure during his tenure as DPP to bring charges against Jimmy Savile.

Sir Keir has done well to date in distancing himself from his own well-known republican past, and from the errors of the institution he led. To bring both back to the fore in such a public manner is another sign of his inexperience.