Boris Johnson has refused to retract his false claim in the House of Commons that Sir Keir Starmer was behind the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
The Labour leader accused him of “parroting violent fascists” with the Savile smear, as the pair clashed over the row at the beginning of PMQs on Wednesday.
Appealing to Tory MPs – some of whom have condemned the PM’s remarks – Sir Keir said: “Theirs is the party of Winston Churchill. Our parties stood together as we defeated fascism in Europe.”
He added: “Now their leader stands in the Commons parroting the conspiracy theories of violent fascists to try and score cheap political points. He knows exactly what he is doing. It is time to restore some dignity.”
Refusing to apologise or withdraw his remarks, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t wish to make heavy weather of this, but I am informed that in 2013 [Sir Keir] apologised and took full responsibility for what had happened on his watch.”
The prime minister’s jibe earlier this week about the Labour leader failing to prosecute Savile in his former role as director of public prosecutions has been completely discredited – and has sparked condemnation from MPs in all parties.
However, Michael Gove claimed Mr Johnson has nothing to apologise after the PM tried to use a notorious paedophile to get one-up on his opponent. Asked on Wednesday whether the PM should say sorry, Mr Gove said: “No”.
Mr Gove added: “Keir Starmer acknowledged that mistakes had been made by the organisation of which he was head, to his credit. He was very clear about those mistakes.”
Fact-checking charity Full Fact also looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009 – a claim which has also been perpetuated by far-right groups on social media.
Full Fact said that while Sir Keir was head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”, he was not part of the decision.
Senior Tory MP Julian Smith is among the backbenchers to have attacked both the PM’s “smear” and deputy PM Dominic Raab’ claim that the remarks were part of the normal “cut and thrust” of the Commons.
Tory Simon Hoare MP said prior to PMQs that the “false allegation should be withdrawn”. Meanwhile, senior backbencher Tobias Ellwood – revealing that he would submit a letter of no-confidence – cited the Savile smear as he warned the party was heading towards a “very ugly place”.
The prime minister’s press secretary said Sir Keir’s apology for the Crown Prosecution Service failing to prosecute Savile was a “matter of public record”.
Pressed on whether Mr Johnson was confident he was not fuelling “conspiracy theories of violent fascists”, his spokeswoman said: “It is all entirely a matter of public record about what happened at the time and Sir Keir Starmer’s apology at the time is a matter of public record.”
But a senior Labour spokesperson dismissed No 10’s claim that Mr Johnson had simply been referring to Sir Keir’s apology, since he referred on Monday to the Labour’s “failure” to prosecute Saville.
“If you’re going to get into the what the prime minister has chosen to do – which is further degrade public life by reaching into the dark recesses of the internet to promote conspiracy theories – then I would simply refer you to the response of a number of Tory MPs who have called this out as totally inappropriate behaviour,” the spokesperson said.
Victims of Savile have also called on Mr Johnson to withdraw his smear, according to a lawyer who has represented some of them.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, told The Independent: “I’ve spoken to a number of victims, and they are appalled and really quite upset that Johnson has tried to use their suffering for political purposes. It’s completely untrue and unjustified to link the case to Keir Starmer – he had no involvement at all.”
The lawyer added: “So for Johnson to repeat this garbage to get himself out of a political hole – you’re into Donald Trump territory, Donald Trump tactics of repeating Q Anon conspiracy theories.”
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson refused to say at PMQs whether he attended a party alleged to have taken place in his Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020 during Covid restrictions.
SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the PM had become a “running joke” on the international stage, adding: “We have now reached the ridiculous scenario of a prime minister who can’t even tell us where he was.”
