Jeremy Corbyn was never a friend, says Keir Starmer – despite previously calling him one

‘I haven’t spoken to him now for two-and-a-half years,’ says Labour leader

Sir Keir Starmer has denied he was ever a friend of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite previously describing him as one.

The Labour leader sought to distance himself from the ex-leader, after moving to ensure Mr Corbyn would not be the party’s candidate for the Islington North constituency at the next general election.

While taking questions on LBC Radio, Mr Starmer was pressed again about his relationship with Mr Corbyn – who he once described as a “colleague” and a “friend”.

Sir Keir told LBC: “I think and hope that my position is very clear. Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate at the next election.”

Pressed about whether Mr Corbyn was ever a friend, Sir Keir said: “No, not in the sense that we went to visit each other or anything like that. I worked with him as a colleague.”

He added: “As I say, I haven’t spoken to him now for two-and-a-half years.”

During the 2020 leadership contest, Sir Keir described Mr Corbyn as both a colleague and a friend.

But Mr Starmer insisted he had not backed the left-winger’s leadership of the party, and had only accepted a role in his shadow cabinet to maintain an “effective opposition”.

He said: “Let’s just run through it. I didn’t vote for him in 2015 when he stood as leader. I wanted him to stand down in 2016, he won again. I again didn’t vote for him. But I did take the view that we needed an effective opposition, that I shouldn’t just walk off the stage.”

Mr Corbyn was suspended over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission finding that Labour under his leadership was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination as he struggled to tackle antisemitism.

Barred by his successor from standing for Labour again, he has said he has “no intention of stopping” fighting for his constituents. But he would be likely to be stripped of his Labour membership if he decided to stand as an independent candidate at the next election.

Frenemies: Corbyn and Starmer attend an election campaign meeting in 2019 (Reuters)

It comes as Sir Keir said “of course” Brexit “has had an impact” on cross-Channel journeys after a weekend of disruption at the Port of Dover.

The Labour leader urged Rishi Sunak’s government to “get a grip”, after coach passengers were forced to spend hours waiting to enter the Kent port, be processed and board ferries at the start of the Easter holiday period for many schools.

Sir Keir told LBC: “Of course Brexit has had an impact – there are more checks to be done. That doesn’t mean that I am advocating a reversal of Brexit, I am not. I have always said there is no case now for going back in.”

The Labour leader said “almost nobody” was talking about trans rights and issues, as he questioned why the issues was the focus of lots of political debate.

“Almost nobody is talking about trans issues,” Sir Keir said. “I do sometimes just wonder why on earth we spend so much of our time discussing something which isn’t a feature of the dinner table or the kitchen table or the café table or the bar.”

He told LBC that his position was that “for the vast majority, let’s say 99.9 per cent, biology matters” when it came to defining a woman.

Sir Keir said that Labour was trying to agree a “common sense” position, but that the party was “not prepared to ignore” the small number of those who identify as a gender different to the one they were born with.