MPs from all sides angrily rounded on Boris Johnson and accused him of whipping up political poison after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, was set upon by protesters who accused him of protecting the paedophile Jimmy Savile.
Johnson provoked widespread fury last week when he suggested Starmer had protected Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions. The comments drew criticism from two former Tory chief whips and prompted the resignation of a long-serving aide.
On Monday, Starmer and the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, had to be bundled into a police car after anti-vax protesters surrounded him near parliament with shouts of “traitor” and “Jimmy Savile”. One witness said a protester carried a hangman’s noose prop, which another protester had joked was for Starmer.
Lammy said it was “no surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the dispatch box. Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy. And they won’t ever stop me doing my job.”
The former chief whip Julian Smith was among at least seven Tory MPs to criticise Johnson as he described the events as appalling. “It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full,” he tweeted.
Calls for an apology also came from Sir Roger Gale, Anthony Mangnall and Tobias Ellwood – Tory MPs who have sent letters of no confidence in Johnson – as well as Stephen Hammond, who has expressed significant concerns about the prime minister.
Tory MP Rob Largan also said it was time to defuse the situation. “Words matter. What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond parliament. It can have serious real world consequences. Elected representatives have a responsibility to lower the temperature of debate, not add fuel to the fire.”
Johnson said the behaviour “directed at the leader of the opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful” but stopped short of apologising for his remarks. “All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable. I thank the police for responding swiftly,” he said.
Labour sources were furious at the incident, though Starmer was unharmed and escorted back to his office within minutes. “Boris Johnson and his cabinet chose to lie down with the dogs – and now the whole lot of them are covered in fleas,” one Labour source said.
The row over Johnson’s Savile comments has been cited by a number of Tory MPs who have submitted letters of no confidence in the prime minister, 54 of which must be sent to trigger a vote of no confidence in him.
During an exchange in the House of Commons last Monday, Johnson said Starmer was “a former director of public prosecutions, who spent more time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”. Starmer did not take the decision personally but had apologised for institutional failings after Savile’s abuse was revealed.
Munira Mirza, one of Johnson’s closest aides who headed the No 10 policy unit, quit on Thursday after urging Johnson to retract the comments. Cabinet ministers have also expressed unease at the remarks, including the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, during a national press conference, saying “I wouldn’t have said it”. Other cabinet ministers have defended the remarks – including the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, and the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, who called it part of the “cut and thrust” of politics.
The incident on Monday night prompted renewed anger from MPs. Labour’s Chris Bryant tweeted that Johnson’s comments were directly responsible for circulating links between Starmer and Savile, which had originally appeared on far-right websites.
“This is appalling. People were shouting all sorts at Keir, including ‘Jimmy Savile’. This is what happens when a prime minister descends into the gutter and recycles lies from hard-right conspiracy theorists. Political poison has an effect. Johnson has no moral compass,” he wrote.
The shadow minister, Yasmin Qureshi, said: “The PM enabled and actively encouraged this.” Liam Byrne, the MP and former mayoral candidate, said: “The best of this country will always defeat the worst. But now we see clearly the kind of behaviour Boris Johnson is prepared to incite.”
The Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also blamed Johnson for amplifying false claims. “This is what happens when fake news is amplified and given credibility by people who should know better. Solidarity with Keir Starmer and David Lammy. Thank you to the Met officers for their swift intervention.”
The health secretary, Sajid Javid, had earlier said it was time to “move on” from the row over Johnson’s Savile comments. “I think we should draw a line under this issue and try to move on because the prime minister has come forward and clarified his remarks.”
Johnson is expected to reshuffle his team on Tuesday, including a shake-up of the whips’ office that could see the chief, Mark Spencer, sacked. Chris Pincher, a housing minister and ally of the prime minister, is tipped to replace him.
The prime minister will also continue the overhaul of his back office team, after recruiting Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Office minister, as his chief of staff, and Guto Harri, his former spokesperson, as his new director of comms. Henry Newman, the deputy chief of staff, and an ally of Carrie Johnson, is also leaving No 10 to return to a job in Michael Gove’s team.
Barclay addressed No 10 staff on Monday saying he wanted to create a “mutually supportive” environment after difficult recent weeks and assuring them his doors is “always open”. He will now divide his time between No 10 and the Cabinet Office, with some of his portfolio distributed to other ministers.
Harri was also present at the staff meeting, after drawing criticism from Labour over his previous job for a lobbying firm and a media interview in which he recounted Johnson appearing to make light of his troubles by singing: “I will survive”.
Labour called for more scrutiny of Harri’s past work for the lobbying firm, saying: “We can’t have the revolving door from lobbying to government see potential national security issues arise. We need full transparency from Guto Harri about all contact he had with government in his former role as a lobbyist and who his clients were.”
Scotland Yard said two arrests were made following clashes between police and protesters on the Victoria Embankment after Starmer was taken to safety. A Met police statement said: “Shortly after 5.10pm on Monday, 7 February, a man who had been surrounded by a group of protesters near to New Scotland Yard, was taken away from the scene by a police car.
“A man and a woman were arrested at the scene for assault of an emergency worker after a traffic cone was thrown at a police officer. They have been taken into custody.”
