MPs from all parties have pointed the finger of blame at Boris Johnson after leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer was mobbed by furious protesters shouting ‘traitor’ and ‘Jimmy Savile’.
The protesters, who had been gathering at a pro anti-vaccination rally near Parliament, shouted abuse at the Labor leader and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy – both having to be bundled into a police car. Two people were arrested.
Johnson said the behavior directed at Starmer was “absolutely disgraceful” and “completely unacceptable”, but failed to acknowledge his part in raising discredited claims about the Labor leader failing to prosecute Savile while at the CPS.
Lammy said it was “no surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the dispatch box. Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy.”
Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, Conservative chairman of the Commons defense committee, demanded on Twitter for an end to “this drift towards a Trumpian style of politics”.
Why was Keir Starmer attacked by protesters?
Flailing in the House of Commons after the release of the initial Sue Gray report, PM Johnson made the unfounded and false claim that Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
Starmer was at no point involved in any decision not to charge Savile.
However, the damage was already done, with the conspiracy fueled anti-vax movement taking these comments at face value.
Julian Smith, a former Northern Ireland secretary under Johnson and one of the many Tory MPs to criticize the PM, said: “It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full,” hey tweeted.
Johnson’s slur has already caused the resignation of the Prime Minister’s closest aide Munira Mirza, as the Downing Street revolving door continues.
Insiders at No 10 have told reporters that Johnson is struggling to fill all the positions left by resignations, as many do not want to be associated with the death throes of the PM’s scandal riddled reign.
