Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
- Two people have been arrested after a crowd swarmed Keir Starmer, chanting “paedo protector”.
- It comes after Boris Johnson said his opponent had failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
- Tory former ministers have publicly told the prime minister to apologise and withdraw the comment.
Boris Johnson must apologise and withdraw his “false Savile slurs” against Keir Starmer, two former ministers have said after the Labour leader was swarmed by a mob Monday evening.
The leader of the opposition was bundled into a police car after being surrounded by a crowd in London. Videos of the incident show protesters shouting “paedo protector” at Starmer.
A man and a woman were arrested after a traffic cone was thrown at officers, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The two people remain in police custody.
The prime minister condemned the attack, tweeting that it was “absolutely disgraceful” and “completely unacceptable”.
—Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 7, 2022
But Johnson has come under fire for his own role in the situation.
Julian Smith, a former chief whip and Northern Ireland Secretary, tweeted: “What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling. It is really important for our democracy & for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.”
Lord Barwell, who was a housing minister and later chief of staff under Theresa May, went further.
“Just like when he said Muslim women wearing burqas looked like letterboxes, Boris Johnson needs to learn that his words have consequences for other people. He needs to withdraw them and apologise,” he wrote on Twitter.
During a Commons debate last Monday, the prime minister claimed that Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, had “spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can make out.”
Savile, a longtime BBC presenter, was a serial sex offender who died before he was ever prosecuted.
—Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) February 7, 2022
Johnson has not since repeated the claim, although has refused to withdraw or apologise for the comments.
The backlash led to the resignation of Munira Mirza, one of his longest-serving aides, on Thursday.
At the time Conservative MPs have told Insider they “despair” of Johnson’s use of a far-right conspiracy theory to smear his opponent. One member of the government said they were considering their position as a result.
Experts have warned his choice of slur was akin to Pizzagate and could embolden groups like QAnon, which currently have a relatively small footprint within the UK.
Several serving ministers have called out the abuse against Starmer, although currently none have referenced the slur.
But several backbench Tories, who are increasingly exasperated with the prime minister, did.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence committee and one of several Conservative MPs to submit a letter of no confidence in Johnson, tweeted: “PM – Apologise please.
“We claim to be the Mother of all Parliaments. Let’s stop this drift towards a Trumpian style of politics from becoming the norm. We are better than this.”
Sir Roger Gale, a fellow Tory backbencher who has also submitted a letter of no confidence, said the abuse was “grim” and “disgraceful”. He added: “This, I fear, is the direct result of the deliberately careless use of language in the chamber.”
Stephen Doughty, a Labour MP, warned: “Two of our colleagues were murdered in the last 5 years. Significant numbers on all sides face repeated threats + actual violence. Words have consequences. Those defending the indefensible, inc. far-right lies need a long hard look at themselves tonight.”
Chris Bryant, chairman of the standards committee and a veteran Labour MP, added: “This was incited by the prime minister. It was the inevitable conclusion of his deliberate lies.”
Powered by WPeMatico
