When Boris Johnson called out Keir Starmer’s failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile, Labour and the leftwing media created a political frenzy designed to silence him. Is it any wonder a national inquiry into the rape gangs has been denied? asks Claire Bullivant.
Boris Johnson was right to call attention to Keir Starmer’s record as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) systemic failure to prosecute serial sex offender Jimmy Savile.
Mr Johnson’s remarks on 31 January 2022 in the House of Commons raised legitimate questions about accountability and leadership during Starmer’s tenure as DPP.
However, Boris’s decision to broach this uncomfortable truth ignited a firestorm. He was besieged by a hostile media, a vocally outraged Labour Party, and even dissenters from within his own inner circle.
The backlash was not only intense but, many argue, deliberately engineered to undermine Boris Johnson and divert attention from Keir Starmer’s failings as DPP.
Labour’s strategy worked as intended. The wave of criticism against Boris effectively deflected scrutiny from Starmer, allowing him to evade accountability for his leadership during one of the CPS’s most notorious and consequential failures.
The Comment That Hit a Nerve
During a fiery Commons debate, Boris pointed out that Starmer, while Director of Public Prosecutions, had “spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile.” It was a direct, unflinching critique of Starmer’s leadership of the CPS—a time when it failed to bring one of Britain’s most notorious predators to justice.
The media and Labour Party erupted in coordinated outrage. Starmer, ever the lawyer appeared across the BBC, calling it a “ridiculous slur.” National press headlines branded it a “disgrace,” while BBC Verify rushed to claim there was “no evidence” that Starmer was personally involved in the decision not to prosecute Savile, conveniently sidestepping the fact that he bore overall responsibility for the CPS.
Facts are facts
It is deeply troubling that so much of the mainstream media chose to overlook the actual facts. Keir Starmer led the CPS from November 2008 to November 2013, a period marked by significant failings.
As DPP, Starmer was responsible for setting prosecution policy and providing leadership to the CPS, which handles criminal cases investigated by police forces in England and Wales. His role also involved ensuring that the justice system upheld high standards of accountability. However, under Starmer’s leadership, the CPS failed to act against Jimmy Savile despite the various allegations. It was also during his tenure that the grooming gang scandal first emerged on the public radar. Critics are quick to ask why full investigations into both, were’t conducted there and then?
Savile, the once-celebrated DJ and television presenter, was only exposed as a prolific sexual predator following his death in 2011. It was revealed that he had abused hundreds of women and children at locations including hospitals, schools, and even the BBC.
In 2007 and 2008, the Surrey and Sussex Police had investigated at least four allegations of sexual assault against Jimmy Savile, dating back to the 1970s. Then in 2009, Surrey Police interviewed Savile and sought advice from the CPS, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to pursue any prosecution.
As a result, Savile never faced any criminal charges or punishment for his crimes during his lifetime. He died in October 2011 at the age of 84, without ever being prosecuted for the extensive sexual abuse he committed over decades.
It was only after Savile’s death that detailed investigations, such as the Conservative Party backed Operation Yewtree inquiry, revealed the shocking scale of his abuse, with hundreds of victims coming forward. The lack of charges against Savile during his life has been attributed to systemic failures, including mishandled police investigations and the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to pursue cases against him despite allegations and evidence.
How was Boris wrong to call this out and draw attention to the fact that Starmer, as DPP, failed to ensure Savile faced justice during his lifetime?
Parliamentary Privilege Under Attack
Boris’s House of Commons statement, made under parliamentary privilege, was entirely within his rights. Yet, Labour Speaker Lindsay Hoyle also waded into the controversy, rebuking Boris for his remarks. It was a telling moment: the establishment seemed more concerned with protecting Keir Starmer’s reputation than addressing the systemic failings that allowed Savile’s crimes to go unpunished and rob his victims of justice.
Another significant blow during this episode came from within Johnson’s own inner circle. Munira Mirza, then his head of policy, resigned in protest, calling Boris’s Jimmy Savile comments in the House of Commons a step too far. Mirza, whose past association with the Revolutionary Communist Party is publicly acknowledged, had transitioned from a background in revolutionary left-wing activism to becoming a trusted member of Johnson’s team. However, her sudden departure appeared more focused on appeasing media critics than supporting her embattled boss. Her dramatic resignation was a gift to Johnson’s opponents and a stark betrayal of a Prime Minister who had placed his trust in her loyalty.
Her resignation letter, widely publicised by The Spectator, accused Boris of making a “scurrilous accusation” against Starmer. But was it scurrilous to point out Starmer’s failures? Hardly. It was a legitimate critique of his tenure as DPP—a fact that Boris, to his credit, refused to shy away from.
It is worth noting that Mirza is married to Dougie Smith, a controversial figure who, according to close Boris confidants like Nadine Dorries, has been accused of undermining the Conservative Party from within.
Is history repeating itself? Are unseen forces at play? How can anyone oppose the need for a full and independent inquiry into the grooming gang scandal now—especially given the evidence of past failures and the heartfelt pleas from victims themselves? The outrage from Labour’s benches over calls from the right for an inquiry is both striking and telling. This week, Keir Starmer went so far as to impose a three-line whip to block the inquiry, guaranteeing that all Labour MPs voted against it.
Are we once again witnessing a coordinated effort to protect the establishment’s image at the expense of systemic justice, leaving victims abandoned and let down yet again?
Accountability, it seems, is a one-way street for many in the media
And where is the mainstream media’s outcry in all this? Where is their scrutiny, their call for independent investigators to tear this Pandora’s box wide open?
When Boris Johnson highlighted Keir Starmer’s role in the CPS’s failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile, the media backlash was immediate—aimed squarely at Boris, of course. Labour and left-leaning outlets wasted no time branding him as reckless and slanderous for daring to raise legitimate questions—much like their current attacks on those calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs today.
We must also never forget the dismissive cries from the left, declaring, “nothing to see here, move on.” Astonishingly, many Labour MPs and sections of the media seem more focused on condemning grooming gang whistleblower Tommy Robinson over a mortgage application than confronting the harrowing reality of young girls being systematically abused.
This is not just hypocritical—it’s a profound disservice to the victims still waiting for justice. Accountability, it seems, remains a one-way street.
The silence on Starmer’s failures is deafening
The real question is this: If Starmer couldn’t ensure justice for Savile’s victims when he was Director of Public Prosecutions, and if he is refusing to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs while he is Prime Minister, what does that say about his priorities? And what is he trying to hide?
For all the noise about Boris Johnson’s words, the silence surrounding Starmer’s failures and inaction is truly deafening.
