Labour has unveiled a new advert attacking prime minister Rishi Sunak, claiming he is letting rapists and burglars ‘walk free’.
The graphic, produced by the party, features Sunak’s face with the text, “Under the Tories, rapists and burglars will be spared”.
The opposition party posted the advert on their social media platforms alongside a caption that warned: “Rishi Sunak has lost control of the prison system. He is letting violent criminals walk free. He is letting Britain down.”
The creative comes amid reports that the Crown court judges have been told to delay sentence hearings for serious crimes, in an aim to manage the rapidly rising prison population.
The adverts also follow in the wake of Labour being criticised in April after the party launched an advert stating the prime minister did not want paedophiles and child sexual abusers jailed.
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The graphic, which subverted an advert template the conservative party was originally using, featured Sunak’s headshot and signature, along with text that read “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t”.
Yet, despite some senior members of the Labour party denouncing such marketing techniques as “gutter politics“, Labour leader Keir Starmer has stood by the graphic.
Since then, the party has repeatedly resurrected the controversial template to address other issues, such as last month’s Raac crumbling concrete crisis in schools.
The contentious adverts have caused critics to question whether political advertising needs further regulations from an impartial standards body.
Speaking earlier this month about Labour’s adverts, the Political Advertising founder Benedict Pringle argued that political adverts much be “accurate and reasonable”, with an element of “valid reality” about the claim, while Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny labelled the adverts as “in bad taste”.
Rishi Sunak has lost control of the prison system.
He is letting violent criminals walk free.
He is letting Britain down. pic.twitter.com/yAqixMSutu
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) October 12, 2023
