Sir Keir Starmer went straight for the political jugular and quickly he had Rishi Sunak on the ropes at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Not that it was difficult.
The prime minister was having to defend his decision to appoint twice-sacked Sir Gavin Williamson to his Cabinet after Sir Gavin resigned on Tuesday evening– two weeks into the job–amid “bullying” allegations.
“The member for South Staffordshire (Sir Gavin) told a civil servant to slit their throat,” said Sir Keir in his opening question.
“How does the Prime Minister think the victim of that bullying felt when he (the PM) expressed great sadness at his resignation?”
The Labour leader was referring to claims made by a senior civil servant against Sir Gavin when he was previously Defence Secretary, which followed revelations about damning, expletive-laden messages he sent to the then Chief Whip Wendy Morton during Liz Truss’ 50-day premiership after he was refused a place at the Queen’s funeral service.
Anne Milton, who worked as deputy chief whip between 2015 and 2017, has also told how her then boss Sir Gavin’s behaviour had been “threatening” and “intimidating” and that she believed that he felt “he’s Francis Urquhart from House Of Cards”.
Sir Gavin has apologised for the Morton messages and rejected some of the other bullying allegations, vowing to clear his name as he quit.
But with his judgement also on the line, Mr Sunak responded to Sir Keir, telling the packed Commons chamber: “Unequivocally, the behaviour complained of was unacceptable and it is absolutely right, it is absolutely right, that the right honourable gentleman has resigned.
“For the record, I did not know about any of the specific concerns relating to his conduct as Secretary of State or Chief Whip, which date back some years.
“I believe that people in public life should treat others with consideration and respect, and those are the principles that this Government will stand by.”
Mr Sunak pledged on the steps of Downing Street that there would be “integrity, professional and accountability” at every level of his Government, words against which his administration already looks increasingly likely to be judged.
And Sir Keir was not going to let the resignation of Sir Gavin quickly end the “bullying” controversy.
“The member for South Staffordshire (Sir Gavin) spent years courting the idea he can intimidate others, blurring the lines to normalise bullying behaviour,” he stressed.
“It’s precisely why the Prime Minister gave him a job. The truth is simple: he is a pathetic bully but he would never get away with it if people like the Prime Minister didn’t hand him power. So does he regret his decision to make him a Government minister?”
The Prime Minister did his best to try to rescue the situation and doubled down on his “integrity” commitment.
“I obviously regret appointing someone who has had to resign in these circumstances but I think what the British people would like to know is that when situations like this arise that they will be dealt with properly,” he emphasised.
“And that’s why it is absolutely right that he resigned and it’s why it is absolutely right that there is an investigation to look into these matters properly. I said my Government will be characterised by integrity, professionalism, and accountability and it will.”
But Sir Keir came back again, pummelling the PM’s already bloody nose.
“Everyone in the country knows someone in the country like the member for South Staffordshire, a sad middle manager getting off on intimidating those beneath him,” he said.
“But everyone in the country also knows someone like the Prime Minister, the boss who is so weak, so worried the bullies will turn on him that he hides behind them.”
Referring to Mr Sunak’s letter to Sir Gavin after he resigned, he added: “What message does he think it sends when rather than take on the bullies, he lines up alongside and thanks them for their loyalty.”
The premier could do little to avoid the hit but then sought to move on to other issues of more concern to many voters.
“The message that I clearly want to send is that integrity in public life matters and that is why it is right that (Gavin Williamson) has resigned. It is why it is right that there is a rigorous process to examine these issues,” he repeated.
“But as well as focusing on this one individual, it also right and important that we keep delivering for the whole country and that’s why this Government will continue to concentrate on stabilising the economy, on strengthening the NHS and on tackling illegal migration, those are my priorities, those are the priorities of the British people and this Government will deliver on them.”
The Labour leader, though, also wanted to broaden the row onto policy, with his party appearing to be trying to target Mr Sunak’s wealth to portray him as unable to properly represent the interests of the public.
“The problem is he can’t stand up to a run-of-the-mill bully, so he has no chance of standing up to vested interests on behalf of working people,” argued Sir Keir.
He added: “Take Shell - they made record profits this year, £26 billion, how much have they paid under his so-called windfall tax? (answer zero so far this year)”
Mr Sunak replied: “I was the Chancellor who introduced an extra tax on the oil and gas companies, but he talks about working people.
“(He) voted against legislation to stop strikes disrupting working people, he voted against legislation to stop extremist protesters disrupting working people, that’s because he’s not on the side of working people, that’s what the Conservatives are for.”
PMQs’ observers were waiting for Mr Sunak to throw in the “Corbyn card”, which he duly obliged in doing, seeking to tie Sir Keir to his previous support for the Labour leader who took his party to election disaster in 2019.
While the Corbyn attack line may hearten Tory MPs, its currency appears to be waning and may well serve only to highlight that Sir Keir is not Mr Corbyn.
And as Mr Sunak faced Labour, his real woes most likely still remained on his own benches, and directly to his left sat Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
The Right winger’s tenure at the Home Office still looks precarious given she was given the top job, having backed Mr Sunak in the Tory leadership contest, just six days after being sacked by Ms Truss after she breached the ministerial code by using her personal email to send a Government document.
The controversy over her appointment appears unlikely to die down and if she is forced to quit, she may not go as quietly as Sir Gavin.
