Keir Starmer is right to ignore Doreen Lawrence

Is Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer right to have limited the access to and sway held over him by Baroness Lawrence, the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence?

Lady Lawrence, a Labour peer who was made the party’s race relations adviser by Starmer after he became leader early in 2020, is in no doubt that this is what has happened in recent weeks. According to the Times, she told a meeting with shadow ministers and senior party officials, ‘I wish Keir listened to me’ and blamed ‘gatekeepers’ around the Labour leader for obstructing her work.

She had given Starmer an endorsement in his successful party leadership campaign that was an important factor in him securing the votes of many black party members. As such, it is understandable that Lady Lawrence should react to such developments with dismay.