John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, criticized Sir Keir Starmer for the sacking of Sam Tarry as he said it had caused “totally unnecessary controversy”. The senior Labor MP said Sir Keir and his advisers had made a “serious mistake”.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “I don’t know who is advising Keir Starmer, but this is a completely unnecessary scandal that has been concocted just at a time when the Tories are tearing themselves apart and we have the maximum opportunity, I think, to gain an edge in the polls, to build support to get us into government, we have this completely unnecessary argument.
“Sam has been picketing as minister after minister, shadow minister after shadow minister, over the years in support of workers who want a decent pay rise, it’s a just cause.
“Now we’re told that he was fired not because he went on the pickets, but because he made statements on the pickets. But what was he to do, go there and carry a stick? It’s a stupid, stupid situation I think we just have to accept that now there’s going to be a wave of strike action inevitably from union after union because their members vote overwhelmingly for strike action because they say ‘we can’t accept a cut of wages’ and we must get off the fence and be on the side of the just cause. The workers, I think they did it right.
“It’s an unnecessary controversy and I’m sorry whoever advised Keir Starmer on this, I think they made a serious mistake.”
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