Prime Minister refuses to respond to ‘paedo defenders’ jibe

During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (February 25), Mrs Badenoch told Sir Keir Starmer he should “ask why his backbenchers are saying that they’re being called the ‘paedo defenders party,’ and followed that up by saying she would “absolutely not apologise” later in the day.

Her jibe followed reporting by The Times that female Labour MPs had told Sir Keir earlier this month that voters had “screamed” the phrase at them in the street over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Scott Heppell/PA Wire)

On Wednesday evening, the Conservative leader said she would “absolutely not apologise” for claiming Labour was being called a “paedo defenders party”.

Today, (Thursday, February 26), during a visit to Warbottle Academy near Newcastle, the Prime Minister refused to respond to Mrs Badenoch.

When asked about the term paedo defenders, he said: “I came into politics to change the lives of millions of people for the better, so I concentrate on what action the government needs to take to do that.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

“We’ve been focusing on tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

“That’s why this week we’ve been working hard to make sure that energy bills are brought down.

“Yesterday, we had the energy price cap announcement. That’s 117 pounds off energy bills, which will be for every household across the country, which is very, very important.”

The Prime Minister added: “And look, there are other measures, rail fares have been frozen, prescription charges have been frozen, wages, minimum living wages, will be going up here.

“And of course, inflation is dropping now to three per cent, and I hope it will drop even further. These are the issues that I think matter most to the country, matter most to me.

“For many people across the country, that’s what they want the government to be focused on, because that’s what their priorities are.”

Lord Peter Mandelson (Image: James Manning/PA WIRE)

Mrs Badenoch’s comments have drawn strong criticism from Labour MP Natalie Fleet, who was groomed as a teenager, and Katie Amess, the daughter of murdered Tory MP Sir David Amess.

Ms Amess said it had been “very inflammatory” and called for Mrs Badenoch to apologise, adding: “It’s not the way that our politicians should be talking, unfortunately.”

But appearing on a phone-in on LBC on Wednesday evening, Mrs Badenoch stood by her comments.

She said: “I will absolutely not apologise.

“I remember when Keir Starmer and the Labour Party were putting out posters saying Rishi Sunak was supporting paedophiles so that they wouldn’t go to prison.

“These people know how to dish it, but they don’t want to take it.”

Mrs Badenoch declined to say whether she thought Labour was a party of “paedo defenders”, saying: “It wasn’t my words, a female Labour MP used that language.”

She added: “Nobody would be calling them that if they held themselves to higher standards.”