In faithfully amplifying Lord Ashcroft’s latest attempt to cause political embarrassment, through the ever-reliable culture war wedge, the Mail doesn’t just play dirty, it plays painfully predictable.
In this week’s leading contender for most absurd political hit job, the Mail on Sunday outdid itself with a breathless front-page ‘exclusive’ that read:
‘After the PM’s years of dithering over the true definition of a woman, a new book reveals… Keir Starmer’s ex-girlfriend is a pro-trans judge.’
Curious to find out more about the book, I turn to page six, only to learn that the article is based on a new biography of Keir Starmer by none other than Lord Ashcroft, former Tory Party deputy chairman and serial biographical bomb-thrower.
The biography, entitled Red Flag, claims that, before meeting his wife, Starmer spent ‘years’ in a relationship with Maya Sikand KC, a ‘high-flying’ barrister who once worked alongside him at Doughty Street Chambers.
The Mail leaps on this, framing Sikand as ‘pro-trans’ and focusing on her involvement in a workplace dispute related to gender identity issues — a dispute that ultimately saw her chambers, Garden Court, lose an employment tribunal over their treatment of gender-critical barrister Allison Bailey.
Unnamed sources are sprinkled in, offering vague insinuations. One suggests that Starmer didn’t treat Sikand well, though stops short of any detail:
‘Maya still likes him a lot even though his treatment of her left a lot to be desired.’
In case readers missed the intended narrative, the Mail recaps how Sikand investigated Bailey over tweets critical of transgender activism and Stonewall’s influence. The tribunal’s ruling in Bailey’s favour is used to paint Sikand, and by extension, Starmer, as entangled in ‘controversial’ trans rights debates. The article frames Garden Court as a left-wing bastion, a member of Stonewall’s ‘controversial’ Diversity Champions scheme.
The Mail further fans the flames by claiming that Starmer’s ministers are ‘in revolt’ over his position on a Supreme Court ruling affirming that gender recognition certificates don’t change a person’s sex in law. Leaked WhatsApp messages show culture minister Sir Chris Bryant and others supposedly ‘organising’ in response.
What’s notably absent from all this, is the slightest hint of scrutiny of Lord Ashcroft himself, the same man behind the dodgy ‘Piggate’ allegations against David Cameron, and who, more recently, launched a biographical hit job against Angela Rayner, accusing her of hypocrisy over Right to Buy.
Ashcroft, of course, has his own skeletons. A longstanding non-dom, he’s been labelled a ‘tax exile,’ despite living in the UK and holding a seat in the House of Lords. Leaked documents revealed that Ashcroft managed to maintain his non-domiciled tax status, avoiding full UK tax liability even as Parliament tried to close the loophole.
In faithfully amplifying Ashcroft’s latest attempt to cause political embarrassment, through the ever-reliable culture war wedge, the Mail doesn’t just play dirty, it plays painfully predictable.
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