By Did the PM spread Jimmy Savile ‘fake news’ against Starmer?
Boris Johnson claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer was responsible for Jimmy Savile escaping justice in 2009, is there any truth in the claim senior Tories have called a ‘smear’?
While making a statement to the House of Commons after the Sue Gray report update was released, Boris Johnson retorted a lengthy speech by the Labour leader with an accusation that he was responsible for Jimmy Saville escaping justice.
The Prime Minister said: “Instead this leader of the opposition, a former director of public prosecution – who used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can see – he chose to use this moment to continually pre-judge a police inquiry.”
The claim comes from Sir Keir’s time as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) – the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – from 2008 to 2013.
In 2009, the CPS did not pursue prosecution for Jimmy Savile, explaining a lack of sufficient evidence as the reason, something which the service later apologised for.
Upon gaining more prominence in Westminster, the claim was circulated on social media, as an attempt to discredit the Labour leader.
After these claims grew traction, the Full Fact website released a report into the saga in 2020, and found Starmer was not personally involved, as he was not the investigating officer.
The CPS told the website: “The reviewing lawyer at the time set out their own reasons for the decisions they took”.
This was based from a 2013 report into why the 2009 case was not pursued, an investigation commissioned by Keir Starmer.
Speaking in 2013, he said he hoped it would be a “watershed moment” for the CPS, with them later updating the guidance on prosecuting child sexual abuse in England and Wales.
Sir Starmer earned his knighthood through the work he did as DPP during this period, receiving the honour in 2014 for “services to law and criminal justice.”
Following the PM’s attack, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab refused to repeat the claim on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday morning, without Parliamentary privilege, saying “I can’t substantiate those claims.”
The minister also called the attack “the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.”
While Culture secretary Nadine Dorries told Channel 4 News on Monday: “I don’t know the background of Keir Starmer.”
Former Conservative Party Chief Whip from 2017 to 2019, Julian Smith MP, slammed the outburst by the PM, saying: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn.
“False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can’t just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.”
Speaking to GMB on Tuesday morning, Starmer slammed the claim as an “untrue slur” and said that Boris Johnson had “stooped that low” and that he had “degraded the whole office.”
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