'Words have consequences': Hoyle brands Boris Johnson's Savile comments 'inappropriate'
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has piled the pressure on Boris Johnson to apologise for his bogus comments on Jimmy Savile, telling him "words have consequences.
Sir Keir Star was mobbed by a group of protesters on Monday evening, a week after the prime minister falsely accused the Labour leader of failing to prosecute Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.
The group were heard shouting "Jimmy Savile", "paedophile protector", "traitor" and "disgrace" as police whisked him to safety.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Hoyle said that Johnson's words were "inappropriate".
He told MPs: “I know it has been reported that some abuse was directed at the leader of the Opposition yesterday related to claims made by the Prime Minister in this chamber.
“But regardless of yesterday’s incident, I made it clear last week that while the Prime Minister’s words were not disorderly they were inappropriate.
“As I said then, these sorts of comments only inflame opinions and generate disregard for the House and it is not acceptable.
“Our words have consequences and we should always be mindful of the fact.”
Johnson is facing fresh calls to apologise for his widely discredited claim that the Labour leader failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile, after the demonstrators accused Starmer of “protecting paedophiles”.
Police made two arrests on Monday in connection with the incident.
Technology minister Chris Philp said he did not believe the incident at Westminster on Monday was the result of Mr Johnson’s comments in the Commons last week.
“I don’t think you can say that’s why it happened because… the people involved in that fracas have previously done similar things to people like Michael Gove and BBC journalist Nick Watt,” he told Sky News.
“They did mention Jimmy Savile. They also mentioned Julian Assange repeatedly, they mentioned Covid, they also mentioned the opposition more generally.
“I don’t think you can point to what the Prime Minister said as the cause of that. You certainly can’t blame him for the fact that that mob were clearly behaving in a totally unacceptable way.”
Johnson has already faced resignations from his top team and an increasing number of his backbench berating him following his comments last week.
Johnson branded Monday night's incident as "absolutely disgraceful" in a tweet, and said that politicians being harassed was "completely unacceptable", but declined to comment on the nature of the comments.
Amid angry clashes at around 5pm on Monday, officers stepped in to protect the Opposition leader as the group followed him and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy from outside Scotland Yard.
Two arrests were made in connection with the incident after an emergency worker was hit with a traffic cone.
It comes as he is already facing the prospect of a no confidence vote amid the Partygate scandal.
Politicians across the political spectrum have now called Johnson to retract his comments and apologise.
On the Tory side, Tobias Ellwood called on the PM to "apologise please" and Sir Roger Gale said he thought what happened was a "direct result" of Johnson's "careless language" in the commons.
They have both submitted letters of no confidence in the PM to the 1922 Committee.
Former Cabinet minister Julian Smith was among several Conservative MPs to demand that the Prime Minister fully withdraws the Savile slur for the sake of Sir Keir’s security
"What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling," said Smith, the Tory MP for Skipton and Ripon and former Northern Ireland secretary. "It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full."
Robert Largan, Tory MP for High Peak, tweeted: "I agree with Julian. 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."
Last Thursday, Rishi Sunak told journalists, "being honest, I wouldn't have said it" when asked at a press conference about the remarks.
On Friday, Munira Mirza, Johnson’s head of policy and ally of 14 years, resigned following his controversial remarks.
"I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice," Mirza wrote in a resignation letter.
She added: "This was not the normal cut-and-thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse."
Jess Phillips, Labour MP and shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said she had "no doubt" Johnson's comments had caused the scenes.
"I'd say I have received death threats that quote Boris Johnson in the past so know how dangerous his words can be," she told Yahoo News UK. "I have no doubt that the lies Boris Johnson told have caused this, all while he has overseen an increase in child exploitation and a reduction in conviction of abusers since he has been prime minister."
Following the abuse the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, tweeted: “When politicians are harassed and threatened it’s a threat not just to the MPs themselves, but to the health of our democracy.
“We must condemn it and stand united against it. I continue to pray for all who work in politics, and for a culture where we can learn to disagree well.”
