Rishi Sunak used Prime Minister’s Questions to tear into Sir Keir Starmer over his previous professional connections with the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Home Secretary James Cleverly announced the plan to add the group to the UK’s list of proscribed terror organisations earlier this week, citing their “antisemitic” activity and their active promotion and encouragement of terrorism.
The ban is set to come in after followers of the group chanted “jihad” at a pro-Gaza rally.
However Sir Keir Starmer once defended Hizb ut-Tahrir in court, during his career as a prominent lawyer.
Speaking at PMQs, Rishi Sunak revealed his role defending them, accusing the Labour leader of performing another infamous u-turn.
Mr Sunak told MPs: “This week he backed the Home Secretary banning the terrorist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, despite him personally using the European Court of Human Rights to try and stop them being banned”.
“Don’t take my word for it Mr Speaker, the extremists’ own press release said – and I quote – ‘The HT legal team led by Keir Starmer QC’.
“Now I know he doesn’t like talking about them because they’ve been a client, but when I see a group chanting ‘Jihad’ on our streets, I ban them.
“He invoices them!”
The slam dunk received rousing cheers from Tory MPs.
In 2008 Sir Keir advised the group, and led their legal time when they appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg with claims there were being “silenced”.
The sect also said that Sir Keir’s legal submission on their behalf highlighted that some group members “had had their assets confiscated or frozen, despite several being German or EU nationals”.
The appeal failed in 2012, and Sir Keir never represented the group in court.
