Tories Would Have Retained Starmer As Top Prosecutor

The Tories have dubbed him "Sir Softy" on crime but the Conservatives would have reappointed Keir Starmer as the country's top prosecutor, a new biography reveals.

- ANDREW GRICE, KATE DEVLIN, ANDY GREGORY

While the future Labour leader decided to leave to become an MP instead, the revelation appears to fly in the face of Tory attacks on his record as the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Last year, Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir of being “uncomfortable” tackling grooming gangs, saying: “That’s why they call him Sir Softy – soft on crime, soft on criminals.”

But a new book by journalist turned ex-Labour spin doctor Tom Baldwin suggests “his term as DPP [director of public prosecutions] was judged to be very successful by the Tory government”.

Despite controversial attempts by Conservative MP to attack Sir Keir over the prosecution of grooming gangs, Keir Starmer: The Biography notes Tory ministers signed off on a cross-party report commending the work he did on the scandals.

Home secretary Theresa May even took Sir Keir out to dinner to thank him for his service, the book says, while the then attorney general Dominic Grieve described the soon-to-be Labour MP as “one of the most successful directors of recent years” at his leaving party.

Although he rebuked Sir Keir at the start of his tenure of DPP for being too political, Mr Grieve – who had the Tory whip removed by Boris Johnson after voting against his Brexit deal – is quoted describing him as “highly effective and someone who always behaved with great integrity”.