SQUIRMING Sir Keir Starmer today refused to say that Jeremy Corbyn would’ve made a better PM than Boris Johnson.
The tight-lipped Labour leader was repeatedly pressed on whether he’d rather have seen predecessor in No 10.
But he would only say that a Labour government in general would’ve been preferable to a Tory one.
Sir Keir has made great efforts to distance his leadership from the toxic legacy of Mr Corbyn’s reign.
He withdrew the whip from the Islington North MP for claiming allegations of anti-semitism within Labour were “exaggerated”.
The ex leader, who is still a member of the party, now sits as an independent member in the Commons.
Asked if Mr Corbyn would’ve made a better PM than Boris, Sir Keir replied: “A Labour government would be far better than the Government we’ve got.”
Pressed again by an astonished interviewer, he would only add: “A Labour government is always better than a Conservative Government.”
Hamas crackdown
It comes after Priti Patel announced supporters of Hamas in the UK face ten years in jail under a fresh crackdown on terror.
The Home Secretary has today baned the political wing of the group 20 years after its military wing was outlawed.
It means people meeting the extremists, as Mr Corbyn once did, could face a decade behind bars.
People waving a flag in support of the group can also be jailed for six months.
Mrs Patel said a ban would protect the Jewish community.
She added: “Hamas has significant terrorist capability and has long been involved in significant violence.”
Lord Austin of Dudley, UK trade envoy to Israel, said: “I’m delighted the Home Secretary has banned the genocidal terrorists of Hamas.”
Far left purge
Earlier this year it emerged Sir Keir plans to boot out 1,000 far left members from the party.
The Labour boss wants to clear out “poisonous” groups loyal to Mr Corbyn, say sources.
Sir Keir – who has led the party since April 2020 – is under pressure to tackle four toxic groups in particular.
These include Labour Against the Witchhunt, which protests against “attacks on free speech and democracy in the Labour Party”.
Resist, Labour In Exile and Socialist Appeal are the other three groups to reportedly be purged, after massive pressure from Sir Keir’s own frontbench.
Labour Against the Witchunt claims the ongoing furore over anti-Semitic allegations have been politically motivated.
In June, it advised followers on its Facebook page that “Labour Party members should just say no to antisemitism training by the Jewish Labour Movement”.
The group also claimed that “it won’t be ‘training’ and it certainly won’t be about antisemitism but anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel – it’s a trap!”
Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee will also be asked to boot out groups pushing to return Corbyn as a Labour MP, and those advocating communism.
