UK PM Keir Starmer; Once an Authoritarian, Always an Authoritarian! By Richard Miller (Europe)

Luke Gittos is a Spiked columnist and author of Human Rights – Illusory Freedom: Why We Should Repeal the Human Rights Act, (Zero books). It has been said that Starmer at the at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), where he was director of public prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013, failed to charge late billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed for sex crimes while he was still alive, as well failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile. Such are the allegation now being aired, but here does not seem to be evidence that Starmer was involved in either decisions, just allegations. But as detailed by Luke Gittos, who was a defence attorney at the time, Starmer was always a problem to liberty:

"Starmer was certainly no friend to free speech as DPP. He went after the freedom of the press, too, leading the prosecution of 30 journalists, mostly from the Sun, during Operation Elveden. None of the reporters was ever convicted of any crime, and yet Starmer refused to apologise for ruining their careers and wasting years of their lives. Some even tried to commit suicide. Starmer started his career as a defence lawyer, yet by the end of his time as DPP, he had made the justice system far less fair for defendants. He undermined some of the key principles of justice and showed no regard for free speech. His tenure at the CPS shows he has always been an authoritarian."

This explains Starmer's present attack jupon free speech, since it seems he does not support the Enlightenment ideal, much like Labor in Australia. Labor is the anti-Enlightenment party and should run their election campaign on that platform!

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/10/17/keir-starmer-has-always-been-an-authoritarian/

"Keir Starmer's past stint at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), where he was director of public prosecutions (DPP) between 2008 and 2013, has started to come under scrutiny.

The UK prime minister has recently been rocked by claims that he 'failed to charge' late billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed for sex crimes while he was still alive. Lawyers representing Al Fayed's alleged victims say they have more than 70 clients who claim to have been abused by the late Harrods boss. Previously, as leader of the opposition, Starmer was also accused by Boris Johnson of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile. While there is no evidence that Starmer was involved in the decisions about either Savile or Al Fayed, it is a common allegation that Starmer was a 'soft' prosecutor.

I was a defence lawyer when Starmer was DPP. Far from being too soft, he took a number of steps that eroded fundamental protections for defendants going through the criminal-justice system. This included repeatedly undermining the presumption of innocence.

In 2012, Starmer issued a public apology for the CPS's failure to prosecute the late Liberal MP, Cyril Smith, while he was still alive. Smith had been accused of child sexual abuse during his lifetime and he was investigated in 1970, but was never charged. Starmer nonetheless claimed, two years after Smith's death, that the evidence against him would have been sufficient for a prosecution.

This announcement represented the first time a DPP had so publicly admonished past decisions by the CPS. A year later, in 2013, Starmer also published a CPS review of the decision not to prosecute Savile, authored by Alison Levitt KC. The report claimed the allegations against Savile were both 'serious and credible' and ought to have been prosecuted.

Some applauded these announcements, seeing them as righting historic wrongs. Others, myself included, saw it as unjust to announce that someone would have been charged, knowing that they could never possibly have defended themselves. Savile and Smith may well have both been guilty. But it was beyond wrong for a public body to effectively declare them guilty, without any chance of the evidence being tested.

Starmer set his sights not only on overturning the presumption of innocence, but also on attacking free speech. In 2010, he prosecuted the 'Twitter joke' case, which centred on a man who had jokingly tweeted that he would bomb an airport in Yorkshire if it didn't re-open in time for his flight. His conviction was eventually quashed by the Court of Appeal, which found that the prosecution had misinterpreted the law. Had the case succeeded, as Starmer wanted it to, then we would be seeing many more prosecutions for online jokes today.

Starmer was certainly no friend to free speech as DPP. He went after the freedom of the press, too, leading the prosecution of 30 journalists, mostly from the Sun, during Operation Elveden. None of the reporters was ever convicted of any crime, and yet Starmer refused to apologise for ruining their careers and wasting years of their lives. Some even tried to commit suicide.

Starmer started his career as a defence lawyer, yet by the end of his time as DPP, he had made the justice system far less fair for defendants. He undermined some of the key principles of justice and showed no regard for free speech. His tenure at the CPS shows he has always been an authoritarian."