LABOUR’S James Murray has defended his leader’s comments on Britian’s ongoing relationship with the EU.

Keir Starmer has been criticised by some for his remarks at a conference in Canada.

But Mr Murray told GB News his critics were guilty of distraction tactics.

He said: “I think what he was talking about was about the fact that we have no interest in watering down UK standards, you know, when that comes to things like consumer protection, workers’ rights and food standards and so on.

“That’s what he was talking about. And he was talking about that very clearly. And in the context of our red lines, when it comes to our relationship with the EU, you know, those red lines are around not rejoining the single market or the Customs Union and not bringing back freedom of movement. You know, we have those red lines, but within those red lines, we’re clear that we do need an improved trading relationship with the EU and that’s what we would seek to secure.

He added: “I think this is about doing what is in our national interest, what’s in our national economic interest, as well as our other national interests when it comes to security, supply chains, cross border policing, and so on. Actually, I think when I hear some of these Conservatives speaking about what Keir Starmer says, it does feel to me like a kind of an attempt to distract from the fact that they have no plan to make Brexit work.

We know that businesses are suffering from greater red tape. We know this is impacting growth. We know it’s deeply in the cost-of-living crisis. That’s why we want to see an improved trading relationship with the EU to help grow the economy and make people across Britain better off

The comments are very clearly about the fact that we’re not in the business of wanting to water down these rights. We’re not in the business of wanting to weaken consumer protection or food standards. This is about improving our trading relationship, but within those very clear red lines I set out.”