SIR KEIR STARMER does not stand up for decency, Diane Abbott MP said today after the Prime Minister again refused to criticise Reform leader Nigel Farage’s “vile” immigration speech.

The Mother of the House led left outrage over the government’s reluctance to hit back against proposals to strip women and children of their human rights and strike deportation deals with oppressive regimes.

Ms Abbott, currently suspended from Labour, said: “Starmer cannot bring himself to criticise Farage’s vile speech. Unsurprising as he has been trying to copy Farage all summer.

“All those who stand for decency, for human rights and against racism will find their voice. But they can expect zero from Starmer.”

Mr Farage meanwhile took less than 24 hours to U-turn on his party’s newly announced immigration plans as he insisted children would not be deported to countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran should he become prime minister.

At a press conference on Tuesday, he said that anyone arriving in Britain illegally would be detained and deported, along with those already in the country with no right to remain.

Asked whether this would include women and children, he told reporters: “Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival, will be detained.”

He claimed “there’s a slight confusion over this” today, adding: “If a single woman etc comes to Britain, they will be detained and deported. If a woman comes with children, we will work out the best thing to do.”

He added that deporting women and children was not part of Reform UK’s plans “for the next five years,” a day after he announced proposals to remove up to 600,000 people from the country.

Far from criticise Reform UK’s proposals to broker returns deals with countries with dire human rights records, Downing Street has outright refused to rule out making similar arrangements.

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds declined to criticise Mr Farage for describing small boat crossings as an “invasion” at an event in Westminster hosted by The Spectator magazine.

Conservative party chair Kevin Hollinrake meanwhile claimed the Tories could “potentially” strike a deal with Taliban-run Afghanistan over migration, insisting his party’s deportation plan, which was published in May, is “far more comprehensive than the one we’ve seen from Reform.”

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said: “The Tories paid the Rwandan government £700 million despite concerns about its human rights record.

“It wouldn’t be a huge leap for a party whose moral compass broke many years ago to send taxpayers’ money to a regime like the Taliban.”