Boris Johnson has been requested by British parliamentarians to apologise to Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, after he was accosted by a mob of irate demonstrators in an event allegedly sparked by the prime minister’s remarks.
Johnson accused Starmer of failing to charge Jimmy Saville, one of the UK’s most prominent sex offenders, during his time as director of public prosecutions, in the House of Commons last week.
Starmer, 59, was mobbed by a crowd on Monday after attending an anti-COVID-19 vaccination event outside Parliament.
Some demonstrators yelled at him, “Traitor!” and “Were you shielding Jimmy Savile?” before escorting him into a police car.
Two persons were arrested, according to police, when a traffic cone was thrown at an officer.
“No wonder the conspiracy theorist thugs who accosted @Keir Starmer & I echoed slurs we heard from @BorisJohnson last week at the despatch box,” said David Lammy, Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman, who was alongside Starmer during the incident and had to be escorted back into Parliament by police.
Johnson is facing calls to quit in the wake of a series of scandals, including booze-fueled parties at his Downing Street office and mansion during coronavirus lockdowns.
The Conservative Party was likewise critical. Sir Roger Gale, a member of Parliament, said on Twitter that the slurs were a “direct result of the intentionally irresponsible use of language in the Chamber.”
Julian Smith, a conservative legislator, went even further in his criticism, suggesting Johnson’s remarks should be completely withdrawn.
On Twitter, Smith remarked, “What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is awful.” “It’s critical for our democracy and for his safety that the bogus Savile slurs against him be fully retracted.”
As a result of his rejection, Munira Mirza, his head of policy and one of his closest advisers, resigned last Thursday. She termed the comments “inappropriate and partisan” in light of a horrific incidence of child sex abuse.
“The behaviour aimed at the Leader of the Opposition tonight is utterly terrible,” Johnson stated on Twitter in response to Monday’s event. Harassment of our elected officials in any way is entirely wrong.”