Rapists and child sex offenders among 30,000 criminals to dodge jail under Tories, Labour says

It comes amid pressure on Labour to withdraw an ad that claims Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison

Keir Starmer’s Labour is attempting to portray itself as the party of law and order (PA)

Tens of thousands of offenders convicted of serious crimes have dodged jail under Tory rule, as Labour claims Rishi Sunak’s party is “on the side of criminals”.

The figures, spotlighted by Labour, show community punishments or suspended sentences were handed to more than 16,500 adults convicted of child pornography offences and 130 cases of rape, between 2010 and the first half of 2022.

Labour’s latest attack on the Tory crime record in the run-up to May’s local elections comes as the party faced criticism over a social media post accusing Mr Sunak of not believing child sex offenders should be locked up.