Becca Monaghan
May 25, 2022
Independent TV
Boris Johnson branded Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, 'Sir Beer Korma' moments after saying he had been "humbled" by the Sue Gray Partygate report.
During a statement in Commons, the Prime Minister said he had "learned a lesson" before noting proposals for "change and reform" of Downing Street.
Labour leader Starmer hit back and said: "They think it is everyone else's fault but theirs.
"They expect others to take the blame while they cling on.
"They pretend the prime minister has somehow been exonerated as if the fact he only broke the law once is worthy of praise.
"The truth is they set the bar for his conduct lower than a snake's belly."
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Johnson slammed Starmer with a jibe that some have called a "resignation offence on its own." He accused Starmer of "sniping from the sidelines" before saying the Labour leader failed to mention "he is himself under investigation by the police."
He said: “Sir Beer Korma is currently failing to hold himself to the same high standards that he demanded of me. He called for me to resign when the when the investigation began. Why is he in his place?”
“He is still there and so is the shadow deputy leader. I apologised when the revelations emerged.
Johnson added: "I continue to apologise, I repeat that I am humbled by what has happened and we instituted profound changes throughout Number 10. But I think in view of the mess that he has found himself in, it would now be a sensible thing for him too to apologise so that we can all collectively move on. That I think is what the people of this country want to see above all."
One Twitter user accused the PM's remark of being scripted, adding: "He's not smart enough to be off the cuff. That alone tells you there's no contrition. He's not humbled. He is angry he's been caught and he's showing off like a two-year-old on the edge of a tantrum."
Another criticised the nickname as coming across as "very desperate and unwise."
Sue Gray's long-awaited inquiry into the No 10 parties concludes that “too little thought” was given “the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public."
“There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” Gray penned.
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