Key Highlights :
1. Labour is facing increasing pressure to withdraw an "appalling" attack advert which claims Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison.
2. Labour was accused of "gutter" politics over the social media post, which has been condemned by politicians from across the political spectrum as well as high-profile Labour supporters.
3. The Independent also understands members of Sir Keir’s own shadow cabinet are uncomfortable with the tactic.
4. One Labour frontbencher, shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell refused to endorse the advert when asked, although she said she did not think it should be removed. But the party said it stood by the graphic – and later doubled down – releasing a second advert suggesting the prime minister does not think those convicted of gun possession with intent to harm should be jailed.
5. Outcry erupted on Friday morning after Labour posted a photograph of Mr Sunak alongside the words: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”
6. In the same post, Labour describes itself as “the party of law and order”, a key battleground in May’s local elections.
7. Denis MacShane, a minister in Tony Blair’s government, criticised the ad saying Labour “should not get into (the) gutter”.
8. Ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged his party to remove it, saying: “This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in ... please withdraw it.”
9. Conservative MP and science minister George Freeman described the initial advert as a “new low in British politics” and denounced it as “appalling”.
10. And the chair of the Commons defence select committee, Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said: “I’ve called it out on my own side for stooping low and do so again now.”
11. Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson accused Labour of a “vile and desperate” campaign strategy.
12. SNP MP John Nicolson said the ad “cheapened and debased” politics.
13. The criticism also went further than the world of politics with the Rotters’ Club author Jonathan Coe tweeting: “Please don’t go down this road, Labour”.
14. Actor Samuel West, recently seen in ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, described it as “lower than low” and said he was “embarrassed” to be a Labour member.
15. Judges are responsible for sentences given to individual criminals. The figures quoted by Labour are also controversial because they cover the period since 2010, five years
The Labour Party has come under fire for their latest advert, which claims that the prime minister does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. This comes after the party was criticised for their previous advert, which claimed that the Conservative Party does not think child sex abusers should go to prison.
The Labour Party has been criticised for their previous advert, which claimed that the Conservative Party does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. This comes after the party was criticised for their previous advert, which claimed that the prime minister does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. The advert has been criticised for being misleading, as the prime minister does in fact think that child sex abusers should go to prison.
