Echoing a US president who sees fit to belittle a once close ally with abuse and video clips, the picture presented of Starmer is rarely of a former human rights lawyer struggling to support a war he considers illegal, but that of an indecisive coward. Despite more supportive coverage in papers such as the Independent and the Observer, the housing secretary, Steve Reed, was forced to defend the government on the BBC on Sunday morning, as broadcasters followed the majority newspaper agenda.