Keir Starmer has furiously condemned Boris Johnson for accusing him of complicity in tolerance for the IRA, during a notably bad-tempered prime minister’s questions in which Johnson was reprimanded by the Speaker for repeatedly changing the subject.
The clash between the two leaders came after Johnson sought to dodge a question about his government’s summer of U-turns by launching a personal attack on Starmer.
Claiming Starmer was a remain supporter who had now changed his mind, Johnson referred to his tenure as shadow Brexit secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “This is a leader of the opposition who supported an IRA-condoning politician who wanted to get out of Nato, and now says absolutely nothing about it.”
A clearly angry Starmer said: “I want him to take it back. I worked for five years with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as director of public prosecutions, prosecuting serious terrorism, working with the intelligence and security services, and the police. Can the prime minister have the decency to withdraw that comment?”
Johnson ignored this in his next answer, prompting the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, to intervene to remind him.
Johnson said: “I’m very happy to say that I listened to the protestations of the right honourable gentleman. I think they would have been more in order in the long years in which he supported a leader of the Labour party …” He was then cut off by Hoyle.
Starmer replied: “When the prime minister has worked with the security and intelligence forces, prosecuting criminals and terrorists, he can lecture me. I asked him to do the decent thing, but doing the decent thing and this prime minister don’t go together.”
Johnson had by then already been reprimanded by Hoyle after he ignored Starmer’s questions on when he had first known about issues with the algorithm for giving A-level students results in the absence of exams.
Twice Johnson failed to respond to Starmer’s request for “a straight answer to a straight question”, instead asking the Labour leader to congratulate pupils on their hard work, and then condemning Starmer for “going around undermining confidence, spreading doubts”.
When Johnson then ignored another question, about Tory MPs’ criticisms of the government’s problems over the summer, and made his comments about the IRA, Hoyle made an intervention – rare during PMQs – to tell him to be less evasive.
“I think there are questions being asked,” the Speaker told him. “We do need to answer the question being put to the prime minister. It would be helpful to those watching to know the answers.”
Johnson resumed: “Mr Speaker, I think it would be helpful for those watching to know …” Hoyle cut him off abruptly, saying: “Prime minister, I think I’ll make the decisions today.”
Challenging Johnson on exams and the end of the furlough job-protection scheme, Starmer said the prime minister was “just tin-eared and making it up as he goes along”.
He added: “He’s just playing games, and he’s fooling nobody. Even his own MPs have run out of patience.”
Johnson, in response, called the Labour leader “captain hindsight”.