Sunak attack ad “not hard enough” amid “broken” justice system, Phillips argues

Jess Phillips has declared that Labour’s controversial attack ad on Rishi Sunak is “not hard enough” and that she would have “gladly” defended it, while demanding that ministers “own” the fact that they have “broken” the justice system.

Labour has faced criticism from across the political spectrum following the release of a series of ads focused on the Prime Minister, the first of which alleged that Sunak does not think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison.

The claim is linked to Labour research suggesting 4,500 individuals with such convictions have not served prison time under the Conservatives since 2010.

Appearing on impressionist and writer Matt Forde’s podcast The Political Party on Monday, Phillips said: “I’m fine with the advert. I would have gladly defended it.”

“The data that it was based on, I’d been saying it all over the news already. And then I was a bit like, what’s everyone bitching and moaning about? It’s alright,” the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding added.

Phillips told the podcast that she is “angrier than that ad at Rishi Sunak” and that the ad is “not hard enough for me actually”. The Labour frontbencher continued: “I’m fucking furious actually. The situation where there isn’t enough judges.

“There isn’t enough courts. There isn’t any probation officers left anymore. There isn’t anyone being charged. Our state systems are reliant entirely just to clean up the mess of a broken system.”

Attacking Dominic Raab’s record as Justice Secretary, Phillips said: “They’ve broken the system. Own it. Own it. Like it’s your failure that this happened. Own it. That’s my attitude towards it. I’m so cross.”

Asked whether it was accurate for Labour to say the Prime Minister does think people convicted of sexual offences should go to prison, she said: “What I would really like it to inspire then in Rishi Sunak is for him to stand in front of a podium that says: “Stop the rapists.”

“Because if he really cares about it, he would be doing like I am doing, stretching every single muscle of every single day of my life to improve rape charging and child abuse charging. If he really cares about it, stop just chasing headlines, flower, and crack on. And yet, instead, he’s not.”

But Phillips also appeared to dispute the basis of the ad, acknowledging that she thinks it is likely the Prime Minister does think such criminals should go to prison. She told Forde: “I imagine Rishi Sunak thinks that rapists and child abusers should go to prison, and so he should be making sure that that is happening.”

Labour has received criticism on the ads from within and beyond the party, with former Home Secretary David Blunkett and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell both saying Labour is “better than this”.

Commenting on the ads in a piece for the Independent this week, Labour MP Barry Gardiner said: “If we blur the distinction between policy and person, we descend into the gutter. Child abuse is a sickening crime, not an instrument to be weaponised against a political opponent.”

Following the initial criticism, Labour leader Keir Starmer wrote in a piece for the Daily Mail last week that he will “make absolutely zero apologies for being blunt”, adding: “I stand by every word Labour has said on the subject, no matter how squeamish it might make some feel.”

Discussing the ads in a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday evening, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Some in the media have said Labour shouldn’t politicise horrific criminal offences going unpunished. We didn’t.

“The Tories did when they cut 20,000 police officers, stripped our criminal justice system of the ability to do its job and left 98% of rape victims without justice and without the peace of mind of knowing their rapist is behind bars. And if Rishi Sunak disagrees with that, then he should do something about it.”