Keir Starmer accused of 'bending to his backbenchers' over plans to 'water down' benefits checks: 'He's weak!'

Jeff Banks has launched a scathing attack on Sir Keir Starmer over his plans to "make it easier" for Britons to claim benefits, branding him "weak".

Speaking to GB News, the fashion designer and broadcaster accused the Prime Minister of "bending to the backbenchers" with the move.

Sir Keir has come under fire over plans to "water down" checks on benefit claimants, as the welfare system continues to balloon under a record backlog of mental health cases.

Officials are warning that the assessment system is at risk of "complete collapse", as a surge in the new Pip claimants is driving delays with a record 3.9 million people now claiming the benefit.

Reacting to the move, Mr Banks told GB News that Sir Keir has "buckled under the pressure" of Labour MPs.

He said: "I think it's more of Keir Starmer bending to the backbenchers. About a year ago, he actually said that he was going to clamp down on welfare benefits, and under pressure, he's now actually buckled yet again.

"So I think it's just an indication of a weak Prime Minister."

Mr Banks highlighted the staggering cost of benefits on the taxpayer each year: "We spend probably about £340billion a year on welfare. That is equivalent to all the money that we actually collect in tax, we spend on welfare."

The broadcaster told GB News that watering down the benefits checks is simply a "sticking plaster" over the surging benefits bill facing the Government.

He explained: "Young people are leaving school, leaving university, and they can't get a job. They then as an alternative will actually claim that they're stressed or whatever, get signed off and they join the Pip payments.

"So all this hokum about let's solve the problem by actually moving when we reassess them, not in nine months time, but in four years time or six years time, that is putting a sticking plaster on it."

Mr Banks warned that the decision by Sir Keir could in fact increase the benefits bill even further.

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He cautioned: "And the problem isn't going away, that's going to stick, and that's actually going to lift the bill over ten years by £46billion.

"The saving that you actually make on staff that are being overstretched is £1.9billion. That's the saving in staff time as distinct from spending another £41billion."

Mr Banks called on Sir Keir to "resign" over his latest "weak" move.

He concluded: "To me, it's a nonsense, weak, Prime Minister. He's got to go."

Defending the Labour Government, former Labour Minister Bill Rammell argued that there "is some logic" to the "watering down" of the move.

He told GB News: "First of all, the system is not out of control. We spend about two per cent less on welfare as a proportion of GDP today than we did in 2010.

"And this change is driven by the numbers, and there is some logic to this, that the changes will save money."

Mr Rammell assured that the changes will "free up staff time" for more face-to-face assessments.

He said: "These are people who are eligible, but then having a bigger gap before they're tested again. That will free up staff time so there's more face-to-face interviews, which I think are critical in really getting our people genuinely eligible for benefit."