Keir Starmer criticises Joe Biden for saying Putin ‘cannot remain in power’, amid Nato alarm

Keir Starmer has criticised Joe Biden for saying Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, after the comment sparked an international row.

Washington has been forced to deny that the US president was calling for regime change in Moscow, after the ad-libbed remark was attacked by the Kremlin and alarmed Nato leaders.

The Labour leader agreed the comment was unwise, calling it “not helpful to say something, to row back”, adding it was a “big thing to say for obvious reasons”.

The criticism came as Sir Keir, in a radio phone-in, also:

* Attacked the government’s “DIY package” for Ukraine refugees as failing – while suggesting his family is unable to accept any “for practical reasons”.

* Accused ministers of failing to act on Labour warnings that a rogue employer would be able to act as P&O ferries has done, in sacking 800 workers for cheaper staff.

* Criticised the use of a 1950s Land Rover to drive Prince William in Jamaica as “a bit odd” because it “harked of the past”.

* Declined to say whether “a woman can have a penis” as the wrong way to discuss trans rights – as the issue divides Labour supporters.

* Said Will Smith was “wrong” to slap comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars – even if insults of family members “excites something quite emotional in all of us”.

Mr Biden appeared to commit another gaffe and to play into Moscow’s hands when, on his visit to Poland, he called Putin a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power”.

Emmanuel Macron issued a rebuke, warning against verbal “escalation” when the priority is “achieving first a ceasefire and then the total withdrawal of troops by diplomatic means”.

A White House official was forced to row back on the president’s remarks, saying: “He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

Speaking on LBC Radio, Sir Keir stepped up his attack over the government’s response to the refugee crisis, saying: “They’ve still got this DIY package really, which is all over the place.

“We hear the refugees who were supposed to be on their way here still haven’t got visas and clearance.”

Sir Keir, who has clashed with children’s author JK Rowling for saying “trans women are women”, said sporting bodies should “decide for themselves” whether they can compete alongside women.

He said he is “an advocate of safe spaces for women”, but suggested he meant in refuges rather than changing rooms

Asked if a woman could have a penis, the Labour leader said: “I don’t think that discussing this issue in this way helps anyone in the long run.”

He called for a “discussion to find a way through this”, adding: “Too many people – in my view – retreat or hold a position which is intolerant of others.”

On the royal trip to Jamaica, he said Prince William was right not to “apologise” for slavery, but suggested he “could have gone further” in his remarks.