When will Sir Keir Starmer identify as a strong leader and support women?

NICOLA STURGEON has staked her political reputation on her controversial gender self-identification law.

So imagine her unease as she confirmed transgender rapist Isla Bryson isn’t being held in an all-female prison after all – and admitted it wouldn’t have been safe.

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It’s hard to imagine a case that would do more harm to the Scottish First Minister’s beloved Bill.

Even more so when Bryson’s estranged wife, Shonna Graham, suggested Bryson only identified as a woman – after raping two mothers – simply to get a simpler life inside.

The debacle hits women’s fears that bad men may have tried to exploit Sturgeon’s Bill to gain access to women-only rooms if the UK government hadn’t tried to block it.

And it gets to the heart of the trans debate — where people tie knots in the name of virtue-signalling, seemingly flouting all common sense.

But if Sturgeon was in a bind, what about Sir Keir Starmer?

The wise decision by the Scottish Prisons Service to advise against placing Bryson in a women’s prison is no ticket to the Labor leader, who continues to stubbornly bury his head in the sand on the issue.

As his party tears itself apart, Starmer sits on the fence, desperate to fumble and cover up, just as he did for years on Brexit, afraid he might reveal his true views.

Labor MP Rosie Duffield says she finds it “really scary” that her boss hasn’t been able to say if he believes a woman can have a penis.

And poor Rosie was snubbed and taunted by her own MPs in the House of Commons when she tried to campaign for women’s rights.

Labour’s Lloyd Russell-Moyle had them barracked and intimidated and former Secretary of State Ben Bradshaw was heard shouting “absolute nonsense”, while Duffield rightly defended the need for rooms “segregated by sex”.

Starmer’s answer?

He called for a “respectful and tolerant approach” to different opinions on the subject of gender.

Meanwhile, a senior Labor aide was caught at a microphone briefing against Duffield and suggested her constituents wanted her to “spend a little more time” in her area rather than “hang out with JK Rowling”.

So not so tolerant and respectful? More like downright patronizing.

Would you say that about a male MP, I wonder?

In any case, I don’t find it “irritating” that she stands up for women’s rights, and I know that many, many other women feel the same way.

And certainly Duffield’s argument was proved by the Bryson case.

It is not transphobic for women to feel unsafe in women-only spaces when all predatory men have to do to gain access to those spaces is to identify themselves as women.

So where exactly does Starmer stand?

Nowhere, like always. It is the palest form of vanilla.

The real problem is that everyone – especially in the Labor Party – lives in constant fear of being removed.

There is a growing intolerance of dissenting views and a dangerous tendency in some people to believe that the “rightest” view is correct and must be respected at all costs.

Sir Keir may be measuring curtains for number 10 – but until women believe he takes their rights seriously, is he really fit to be PM?

Salma’s stocking thriller at premiere

WHEN attending the Miami premiere of Magic Mike’s Last Dance last week, moviegoers might have expected to see a slew of half-dressed men.

But Salma Hayek made sure she wasn’t staged by any dabbling hunks.

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Essentially wearing bodystocking, the 56-year-old showed off her stunning figure.

When asked about his co-star’s outfit, the film’s lead, Channing Tatum, blushed and said, “I have no comment on this situation.”

For a woman of any age, she looked absolutely fabulous.

No wonder she left him speechless.

It’s not what it seems

POOR Harry Styles.

The superstar suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at a performance in Los Angeles this week when his trousers split open to the shock of stunned concert-goers.

To make matters worse, he performed in front of his teenage crush, Jennifer Aniston.

He said: “My pants are torn.

“I think I have to apologize to some of you up front.

“I mean, this is a family show.”

Luckily for Harry, a beaming Jennifer didn’t seem to mind.

stay home

Apparently, the majority of Britons say Prince Harry should be invited to the King’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.

A new poll found that 60 per cent think the Duke of Sussex should be offered a seat at the ceremony.

Can I ask why? Imagine the embarrassed faces, the sour grapes.

This should be a happy occasion.

Please spare us.

In high spirits

As we embrace all things ’90s, cocktails seem to be back in fashion.

According to the spirits manufacturer Diageo, the demand for a classic mixed drink is increasing.

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And the cosmopolitan, the cranberry vodka drink favored by Carrie and co on Sex And The City, is still popular today.

I’ve avoided most of the 1990’s throwbacks and I can guarantee you’ll NEVER see me in a bucket hat.

But that’s a trend I can embrace.

Applause!

Bulls in the rotten system

It’s enough to make you cry.

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Met Police at the moment, a serving officer – who was stationed at a north London school – has pleaded guilty to child molestation.

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PC Hussain Chehab, 22, admitted four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, three counts of indecent photos of a child and sexual communication with a child.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the case as “ghastly” – but at this point, words don’t feel enough.

The fact remains that a man with a sexual interest in children was not only allowed to join the police, he was then transferred to a job at a secondary school where, in a grotesque twist, he served as a Safer Schools officer.

The alarm was only raised by the family of one girl, who reported that she recently had a relationship with Chehab, believed to have started when she was 15.

We hear of “bad apples” but with Sir Mark admitting three police officers are brought to justice every WEEK, it’s hard not to feel like the whole system is rotten.

Total overhaul

I feel awful for all the fine cops who come into the profession for the noblest of reasons.

But I’m wondering if the urge to hire so many so quickly over the past few years has led to them letting in pretty much anyone who applies.

This week we learned that Met recruits are hired without face-to-face interviews that test their motives and values.

Surely this is the most basic level of verification?

And His Majesty’s Police Inspectorate Matt Parr warned this week that ambitious recruitment targets have resulted in some officers being hired despite being “functionally illiterate”.

I think the police force needs a complete overhaul by a team of outsiders with no vested interest in who stays – and who goes.