A top Tory today doubled down over Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smear, claiming it was “perfectly reasonable”.
Kwasi Kwarteng was slammed for defending the PM’s use of the paedophile to attack Keir Starmer - despite Mr Johnson already rowing back himself.
The Business Secretary told Sky News: “In that context I think it was perfectly reasonable to mention the fact Sir Keir apologised on behalf of the organisation he led about the fact they failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
“So the fact he apologised suggests he does at some level bear some responsibility.”
Sir Keir led the Crown Prosecution Service when it decided not to prosecute Savile in 2009 due to insufficient evidence, a decision he - as its director - later apologised for.
But the Full Fact website investigated in 2020 and found it had never actually been suggested that Sir Keir was personally involved in the decision.
Instead, the CPS said: “The reviewing lawyer at the time set out their own reasons for the decisions they took”.
Despite this, the cornered PM lashed out on Monday, saying: “He spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can make out.”
He was accused of repeating a far-right conspiracy theory.
He finally rowed back on Thursday, saying he was not talking about Sir Keir’s “personal record”, but his failure to apologise prompted the resignation of long-serving aide Munira Mirza.
Lawyers representing Savile's victims have also criticised the Prime Minister.
Asked to clarify his words, Mr Kwarteng said: “What I’m trying to say is it’s about leadership, it’s about accountability, Sir Keir apologised, and so that was something that was absolutely in scope.
“I’m not saying he had personal blame, he didn’t, and we’ve been very clear about that, the PM clarified that position as well.
“But I think in the cut and thrust of debate, when people are talking about leadership and accountability, bringing up something Sir Keir himself apologised for seems reasonable.”
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas tweeted to Mr Kwarteng: “Do you really not have the self respect to concede that the PM’s Savile slur was indefensible?
“You talk about leadership but you clearly don’t understand the meaning of the word. The PM was *exactly* making a personal slur - stop insulting us.”
The Sunday Times today claimed Mr Johnson had the idea to raise the Savile smear after it was whispered to him by Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg.
A spokesman for Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Mirror it was not true that he whispered the idea to the PM, and denied he brought it up in any context before Mr Johnson made the comment on Monday.
The spokesman pointed out Dominic Raab was sitting between the two men.
Gavin Barwell, a Conservative peer who previously served as Theresa May's chief of staff, branded the debunked Savile claim "a stupid thing" for Mr Johnson to have done.
Lord Barwell told the same programme: "Even if you set aside that moral argument, on a purely tactical level it was a stupid thing for the Prime Minister to do.
"Because it's led to the resignation of one of his key aides, it's led to more MPs submitting letters of no confidence in him. It's further destabilised his position.
"The point here is that we know he was given advice not to do that, and went ahead and did it anyway.
"What that tells you is that yes, having the right people around you can help. But ultimately, the culture at Number 10 and the decisions the Government makes come from the top.
"The Prime Minister himself, if he's going to stay in office, is going to have to change the way he is behaving and running the Government."
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have both indicated they would not have said the remarks - prompting a civil war in the Cabinet.
Boris Johnson ’s allies turned on 'blatant' Mr Sunak over his 'childish' leadership hopes.
One told the Sunday Times: “He's a bit like a five-year-old boy who tells the girl he likes to 'please, please' not kiss him.
“He appears to be trying to hasten the PM's departure before things get properly a*** with the economy."
Another branded it “blatant plotting" adding: "He has behaved in a childish, immature and petulant way. No one will ever elect someone so duplicitous as leader”.
But Mr Kwarteng told T&G on Times Radio: "I don't think they were criticising the Prime Minister.
"They were making a specific point about what t
hey would have done in the course of a debate, and I don't think that's a criticism of anybody."
