Keir Starmer accuses opposition leader of spending ‘a lot of time on social media over Christmas’

When Kemi Badenoch used prime minister’s questions this week to echo Elon Musk’s demands for a new inquiry into sexual grooming gangs, the MPs behind her were trying to interpret the intentions of their fledgling leader. Was it a long-held view? A short-term move to wrong-foot Labour or appeal to Reform voters? A sign she was adopting a more radical politics?

There was one point, however, that seemed to unite those with differing theories about their leader’s motives. Her decision to warn Keir Starmer that refusing a fresh inquiry could prompt speculation about a “cover-up” was the kind of political gamble they had expected her to be willing to take.