Rapists and child sex offenders among 30,000 criminals to dodge jail under Tories, Labour says

It comes amid pressure on Labour to withdraw an ad that claims Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison

Keir Starmer’s Labour is attempting to portray itself as the party of law and order (PA)

Tens of thousands of offenders convicted of serious crimes have dodged jail under Tory rule, as Labour claims Rishi Sunak’s party is “on the side of criminals”.

The figures, spotlighted by Labour, show community punishments or suspended sentences were handed to more than 16,500 adults convicted of child pornography offences and 130 cases of rape, between 2010 and the first half of 2022.

Labour’s latest attack on the Tory crime record in the run-up to May’s local elections comes as the party faced criticism over a social media post accusing Mr Sunak of not believing child sex offenders should be locked up.

The post was based on figures showing 4,500 cases of sexual assault or sexual activity on children under-16 did not result in a jail term.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed has accused the government of leaving ‘dangerous criminals free to roam the streets’ (Reuters)

The decision to aim the attack at Mr Sunak was criticised because sentences are passed by judges or magistrates rather than the prime minister of the day – and the Tory leader was not even an MP in 2010, when the figures included in Labour‘s analysis begin.

Other offences highlighted by Labour include 8,487 sexual assaults, 937 cases of possessing a firearm with intent and 404 kidnaps.

Although judges have discretion within sentencing guidelines and the circumstances of individual cases vary, Labour claimed the lenient punishments were due in part to problems within the criminal justice system including case backlogs and crowded prisons.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said: “These figures will horrify communities up and down this country. Victims are terrified, constantly looking over their shoulders. This is reality in Tory Britain.

“The Conservatives have left dangerous criminals free to roam the streets. Parents will be worried sick that the Conservatives have gone so soft on these dangerous crimes.

“Rishi Sunak must come clean and explain why the Conservatives are on the side of criminals, not the law-abiding majority.

“Labour is the party of law and order, and we will implement tougher sentences for dangerous criminals. We have made it a central mission to make Britain’s streets safe.”

But Labour‘s attempt to portray itself as tough on crime in its Twitter post attacking Mr Sunak directly drew widespread criticism – and awkward questions for a senior shadow cabinet minister.

The opposition posted a photo of the prime minister alongside the words: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”

The tweet was condemned by opponents, commentators and some Labour MPs, while Twitter added context to the message.

Asked if she stood by the Twitter post, shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said: “What I stand by is what that graphic is trying to show, which is that the prime minister of our country is responsible for the criminal justice system of our country and currently that criminal justice system is not working.”

She added: “I didn’t design the graphic, it’s not my graphic.”

Taking a similar line of attack to Labour, the Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of having “lost control” on crime, after highlighting new figures showing over 100,000 burglaries went unsolved last year.

According to figures shared with the party by 26 of 39 police forces in England, seven in 10 burglaries reported in 2022 have already been closed without a suspect being identified.