Angela Rayner squirms over her failure to promote Labour attack ads

Angela Rayner squirms as she’s asked why she hasn’t promoted Labour’s ad campaign targeting Rishi Sunak as party’s deputy suggests Easter break is why she hasn’t shared controversial posters on social media

• Labour are being widely criticised for attack ads targeting the PM and his family 

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner squirmed today as she was quizzed about why she hasn’t personally promoted the party’s controversial new ad campaign.

A series of posters have been created by Labour attacking Rishi Sunak and the Prime Minister’s family over a series of issues.

One claimed Mr Sunak ‘doesn’t believe’ adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison, as Labour attempted to highlight the Tories’ record on jailing offenders.

Another poster took aim at the non-dom tax status previously enjoyed by the PM’s wife, Akshata Murty, as Britons endure the highest tax burden in 70 years.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been widely criticised for the new attack ads aimed at the PM – particularly over the claim that Mr Sunak doesn’t want child sex abusers to go to prison – including from within his own party.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner squirmed as she was quizzed about why she hasn’t personally promoted the party’s controversial new ad campaign

A series of posters have been created by Labour attacking Rishi Sunak and the Prime Minister’s family over a series of issues.

Sir Keir Starmer, pictured with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves in Great Yarmouth yesterday, has said he will make ‘no apologies for highlighting the failures of this Government’

The ad campaign, launched during Parliament’s Easter recess, has also caused splits within Sir Keir’s top team, with some shadow ministers reportedly uncomfortable with the strategy.

Many Labour MPs have been reluctant to promote the posters on their personal social media pages.

Appearing on Sky News today, Ms Rayner was quizzed about why she had not shared any of the attack ads on her Twitter account.

‘I was away with my children last week, so I was not necessarily on my social media as much as I normally would be,’ the Labour deputy leader said.

‘But I do think it’s right that we highlight these issues. We should be highlighting the situation with criminals at the moment who are getting away with it.

‘These are serious crimes, and the government and the Prime Minister is responsible for setting the framework for the criminal justice system and they failed to protect the public.’

Ms Rayner was challenged about why she had posted other messages to her Twitter account over the past week but not shared the attack ads, as she was asked if she was ‘holding your nose, because you think they’re going a bit far’.

‘Not at all,’ she replied. ‘These are hard-hitting ads about the Government’s failure on crime. And I think it’s right that we highlight that.’

Mr Sunak yesterday called for ‘less talk, more action’ from politicians as he hit back against Labour’s controversial poster accusing him of not wanting child sex abusers to be jailed.

But Sir Keir said he will make ‘no apologies for highlighting the failures of this Government’.

Amid the furious backlash against the Labour campaign, there has been a focus on Sir Keir’s past role as head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

It has emerged how Sir Keir helped decide the current sentencing guidelines for child sex abusers, which were adopted in 2012.

The now Labour leader sat on the Sentencing Council when it was agreed the crime should not get an automatic prison sentence, although a maximum of 14 years in jail was set.

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