Keir Starmer vows to protect workers from tax rises but refuses to commit to pensions triple lock in Sun’s politics show

SIR Keir Starmer took a pounding from Sun readers tonight over whether Britain could trust him.

The wannabe PM refused to commit to protecting the triple lock for 12 million pensioners - warning there were tough decisions ahead.

And he warned taxes would go up under Labour - but vowed to protect Britain's hardest workers who are already "overburdened". 

He also admitted he never believed Jeremy Corbyn would win when he told the public to vote for him - attempting to bat away accusations of dishonesty.

The Labour boss also confessed that he was paid to defend terrorist group Hizb ut-tahrir, but said he had no regrets representing “wrong ‘uns” as a lawyer.

He defended a slew of policy u-turns since becoming Labour leader on The Sun’s new political show – while he dodged questions on trans, taking drugs and his sex life.

In a sweeping 45-minute grilling Starmer:

• REFUSED to say whether he ever took drugs while a jobbing lawyer
  
• DEFENDED representing terrorists as a lawyer
  
• INSISTED we could not go back into the EU despite his love of Remain
• URGED Nike to change the hated England kit and make football shirts cheaper for fans
  
• STRUGGLED to explain if "women could have testicles"
  
• ADMITTED he had not seen evidence Angela Rayner did not dodge Capital Gains Tax
  
• INSISTED he only knew of Jimmy Savile accusations after the monster died

Quizzed why he had torn up so many of his promises in the past, Sir Keir insisted he is being honest with voters now.

But he warned: “I've got a choice to make with the electorate, which is do I be up front before the election about what we actually can afford and what we can't or do I pretend we can deliver something which I know we actually can't."

Confronted with polling data that showed many Brits saw him as untrustworthy, Sir Keir insisted: "I'm in the camp of saying look, what I don't want to have is a situation where, after the election, we are breaking our promises."

In news that will rile pensioners, the Labour chief repeatedly refused to be drawn on the triple lock that sees pensions rise by inflation or wage rate every year.

He warned: "Obviously, we'll have to see what the state of the economy is as we go into the election, we will publish all of our plans as we go in and answer that question, but I believe in the triple lock."

Starmer also appeared to u-turn again on his views on gender and was once again unable to define what a woman is as he insisted the whole issue has to be "treated with respect".

The Labour boss has been trying to clarify his views on gender since 2021 when he struggled to say whether or not a woman could have a penis.

This year, he said that 99.9 per cent of women "haven't got a penis" and also rowed back on plans to introduce a self-ID system for transgender people.

But asked if he still believes “women can have testicles”, he said only a very small number were affected.

He said:  "The whole issue here has to be treated with respect and dignity. And the Labour Party has fought for women's rights all its life and will continue to do so."

Pressed on his U-turn on gender reform, the Labour leader pointed to what happened in Scotland, before adding:  "In the real world outside of politics when circumstances change, people adapt their position."