Never here Keir! As Lammy loses the plot - could Starmer actually spend some time in UK?

Keir Starmer has quite a lot in his in-tray at the moment. There's a major manhunt underway for a migrant sex offender mistakenly released from prison.

Not to mention the looming Budget with a massive tax raid expected to clobber millions of Britons in less than three weeks time. The small boats crisis, tariffs and rising unemployment are a major headache for the Prime Minister. And then there's the doomladen polls, with Labour haemorrhaging support as they come under attack from the Left-Right pincer of the Greens and Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

It all begs the question as to why Sir Keir isn't in the country yet again?

While David Lammy was making a fool of himself on the floor of the House of Commons on Wednesday, the PM was 35,000 feet in the air en-route to Brazil.

Later on, as his Justice Secretary scrambled to limit the damage of another high-profile cock-up, Sir Keir was witnessed in Rio de Janeiro "clapping along as Kylie Minogue gyrated with six buff Brazilian dancers to a megamix of her greatest hits."

It adds credence to the criticism over the frequency of the PM's trips abroad, earning him the nickname "Never Here Keir".

Since becoming Prime Minister in July last year he has made 32 international trips to 26 countries.

He will add South Africa to that list when attends the G20 summit later this month.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch posted on X: "Keir Starmer has jetted off abroad again. His deputy is tying himself in knots about whether he bought a suit on Wednesday.

"The Government is distracted.

"Meanwhile uncertainty about tax rises is damaging business."

One Labour backbencher moaned to the Daily Express: "It wouldn't be half as bad if things were going well but they aren't, they're going pretty badly at the moment. And that is partly because he's never here.

"Keir needs to show more leadership and that begins by being present."

Recent trips have included Turkey, India, Washington, Norway and Copenhagen, when he was forced to come home early because of the Manchester synagogue terror attack.

Sir Keir was left red faced during a visit to Albania in the Spring when the country's Prime Minister Edi Rama ruled out hosting a migrant "returns hub".

And he faced further humiliation during last month's Middle East peace summit in Egypt when he appeared to be snubbed on stage by Donald Trump.

The Prime Minister had stopped off in Rio to attend Prince William's Earthshot Prize before heading to Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, for the COP 30 climate summit.

But why is he there at all? Until very recently the official guidance was not to attend the toothless event.

His surprise decision to go has baffled some Labour insiders.

The answer is that Sir Keir's advisers are growing increasingly concerned about Labour being outflanked, not only by Reform, but, increasingly so, the Green Party.

The party has seen a slow increase in support over the last year, buoyed by a high-profile leadership election and the ascendancy of Zack Polanski, their controversial eco-populist figurehead.

The latest polls show the Greens polling at 16% - more than the Liberal Democrats and just 1% point behind Labour.

Downing Street maintains the trips are necessary to enhance Britain's diplomatic ties around the world and help boost trade links.

But with so many domestic issues to contend with, perhaps it's time for Sir Keir to stay grounded for a while.