Labour has doubled down after it posted an advert claiming Rishi Sunak did not think child sex abusers should go to prison, which drew criticism from MPs and others.
The opposition party was accused of a “vile and desperate” campaign strategy by Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson and “cheapened and debased” politics by SNP MP John Nicolson after posting the advert on Twitter. In a tweet pitching itself as “the party of law and order”, Labour shared a photo of the Prime Minister alongside the words: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”
Labour backbencher and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged the party to climb down, saying: “This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in. I say to the people who have taken the decision to publish this ad, please withdraw it. We, the Labour Party, are better than this.”
