Keir Starmer’s past is coming back to haunt him

Keir Starmer returns to the political fray with one item at the top of a crowded agenda: asylum and immigration levels, the biggest threat to his plans to stabilise the Government after a rocky summer.

Hardly anyone of good sense in his own court – let alone sceptics or opponents –believe that his initial “smash the gangs” pledge to see off the small boats influx in the Channel – i.e. a patchwork mix of deals with France, Germany and Poland to block the routes of inflatables (which he thinks will defeat the ingenuity of traffickers) and promises about more Interpol activity (which has yielded a big fat nothing) – is anything close to an answer.

Recent rowdy demonstrations focused on asylum hostels and events in Epping Forest, where the district council has succeeded in the first roun