Once bitten … Two weeks ago, Keir Starmer found himself on the back foot for not immediately calling for a public inquiry into child grooming gangs. After Axel Rudakubana unexpectedly pleaded guilty to the murder of three girls and the attempted murder of 10 others at a dance class in Southport last July, the prime minister was determined not to be caught out again. On Monday he immediately announced a public inquiry and first thing on Tuesday he gave a press conference in Downing Street.
This was a Starmer hell-bent on seizing the initiative. Serious. Lawyerly. Kemi Badenoch has taken to criticising the prime minister for being a lawyer, not a leader. But Keir was out to prove you could be both. Indeed there were times when being a lawyer was an advantage. And this was very definitely one of them. Otherwise things can fall apart rapidly.
