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It was “perfectly reasonable” for Boris Johnson to attack Sir Keir Starmer over the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions, a minister has told Sky News.
Asked on Trevor Phillips on Sunday about the prime minister‘s use of the discredited claim that the Labour leader was responsible for the failure to bring Savile to justice, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng defended Mr Johnson.
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Sir Keir accused the PM of using the “conspiracy theories of violent fascists” to score political points, having described it as a “ridiculous slur peddled by right-wing trolls” during an interview with Sky News earlier this week.
Mr Johnson stepped back from his use of the discredited claim after days of criticism, saying Sir Keir “had nothing to do personally with those decisions” and “I was making a point about his responsibility for the organisation as a whole”.
Asked if he would have used the words that the PM did in the Commons on Monday, Mr Kwarteng said: “In that context I think it was perfectly reasonable to mention the fact that Sir Keir had apologised.
“Sir Keir himself apologised on behalf of the organisation he led about the fact that they failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
“So the fact that he apologised suggests that he does, at some level, bear some responsibility.”
Pressed further on whether he would have used those words, Mr Kwarteng said: “No, what I’m trying to say is that it’s about leadership, it’s about accountability.
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Source : skynews
