Keir Starmer's wafer-thin theatrics can't hide Jess Phillips and Yvette Cooper's shame

Surely no one was taken in by theatrics at the weekend? His sudden recall of Parliament on Saturday in order to "save" the Scunthorpe Steel plant is something he could have done earlier in the week when Parliament was sitting. No, Starmer's sudden decision to recall MPs, many only informed by their whips after 4pm on Friday, was a desperate bid to erase a disastrous final week of term.

Word had got back to him that his troops heading off to campaign for local elections and the Runcorn by-election were furious - especially "red wall" MPs who represent seats with a high proportion of white, working-class voters. Honestly, if Starmer was serious about finding a lasting solution for then he would have shown and his flag-waving Net Zero fanaticism the door months ago. However, it was Jess Phillips' announcement on Tuesday to water down the grooming gang inquiry - a mistake of monumental proportions - that caused the most anger.

As bold as brass, she stood at the despatch box, literally gaslighting a nation, insisting that this wasn't a dilution of an already toothless non-national inquiry. Apparently, the government was taking a "flexible approach". So flexible that councils - such as Bradford, up to their armpits in it - would be able to opt out of investigations.

Incredibly this is the same who also masquerades as the self-proclaimed champion of abused and vulnerable women. What an insult to the thousands of white working-class girls so brutally and systematically abused.

Even - Sky News presenter and former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission - condemned the move as "utterly shameful" and "obviously political" for not pursuing largely Muslim Pakistani men for fear it will affect chances at the ballot box. Surely St Jess with her wafer-thin 693-vote majority and 35% ethnic minority vote, wasn't losing her principles for electoral expediency?

Thank goodness for the spirited Independent , formerly of Reform UK, who has established an independent rape gang inquiry, which he hopes will become a cross-party inquiry. I have already agreed to join the panel, but I do wonder if any Labour MP has the courage to join too?

On the same day Jess Phillips failed to tackle the severe injustices against white, working-class girls, her boss - the - failed to grasp the enormity of the decision of West Yorkshire to ban white people from applying to become police officers while at the same time that very same police force was holding "white privilege" courses for its current officers.

Cooper - who also happens to be a West Yorkshire MP - brushed over this racist anti-white approach to recruitment as normal in trying to recruit more ethnic minorities. Her failure to see people just want the best person for the job irrespective of race, gender, religion or sexuality sums up perfectly all that is wrong about the current Labour Party.

Lurching from one disaster to another, there is no wonder Starmer had to put on his parliamentary pantomime at the weekend.