PM left reeling after Tory leader accuses him of trying to blame all his mistakes on his staff
Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs (Image: House of Commons)
A furious Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions of “stuffing Government with hypocrites and paedophile apologists“. In a bad-tempered confrontation in the House of Commons, she asked: “Isn’t the Prime Minister ashamed that will be his legacy?”
The Tory leader accused Sir Keir of blaming his staff for his Government’s failings. And she asked: “Does he ever look in the mirror and ask himself, is the real problem staring him in the face?” Mrs Badenoch capitalised on the series of scandals that have afflicted Sir Keir’s Government. Last week, the Prime Minister admitted he had known Lord Mandelson had continued a friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but appointed the Labour peer as ambassador to the US anyway.
And on Tuesday, Labour stripped the whip from Labour member of the House of Lords Matthew Doyle over his previous support for a council candidate charged with indecent child image offences.
But Mrs Badenoch pointed out that Sir Keir had sacked his former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and accused Sir Keir of trying to blame his staff for his problems.
She said: “Just last week, he told us that he had full confidence in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. On Sunday, he sacked Morgan McSweeney.”
And the Tory leader pointed out that Sir Keir is also removing his Cabinet Secretary, according to reports, which Sir Keir did not deny.
The Prime Minister tried to hit back by pointing out that Tory MPs had defected to Reform.
But Mrs Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister is demonstrating stratospheric levels of delusion if he thinks the problem is on this side of the House … he is throwing everyone under a bus except himself.”
And she said female Labour MPs were angry at the Government. Mrs Badenoch said: “Nobody buys it, Mr Speaker. Not even the Labour women.”
Sir Keir defended Morgan McSweeney’s record as his chief of staff, after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked why he had broken his pledge to never turn on his staff.
He also said that while Mr McSweeney helped deliver Labour’s election win, Mrs Badenoch was overseeing the shrinkage of her party amid defections to Reform UK.
Mrs Badenoch said: “When he was leader of the opposition, the Prime Minister said, and I quote: ‘I never turn on my staff when they make mistakes. I carry the can.’ What changed?”
Sir Keir replied: “I’ve accepted responsibility and apologised for the mistakes that I’ve made. But let me say this – Morgan McSweeney helped me change our party and helped me win a landslide election victory, which delivered for them the smallest Tory party in over 100 years. And what’s her great achievement? To make it even smaller.”
