The Commons Speaker has reprimanded Boris Johnson over his Jimmy Savile comments in Parliament.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the Prime Minister’s suggestion it was the Labour leader’s fault the notorious entertainer was not brought to justice would “inflame opinions and generate disregard for the House”.
He added that while the accusation was not “disorderly”, he was “far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate.”
During a grilling over the Sue Gray ‘partygate’ report in the Commons on Monday, the Prime Minister claimed Sir Keir Starmer used his time at the CPS “prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”.
Former Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith also branded Mr Johnson’s comments “false and baseless”.
The Tory MP for Skipton and Ripon said: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong and cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn.
“False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust and can’t just be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.”
The lawyer representing victims of Savile said his clients were "universally appalled and disgusted" by the comment.
The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.
— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) February 1, 2022
Richard Scorer, head of abuse and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, told the Mirror: “They feel he should withdraw those remarks."
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the comment was “part of the cut and thrust in the Chamber.”
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also defended the PM following the debate.
When asked if Mr Johnson should have made the baseless claim, she told Channel 4 News: “I think there are lots of things that Keir Starmer shouldn’t have said.”
Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West, responded to Mr Johnson’s comments by saying that the reference made to Savile was “a disgrace to Parliament and office of Prime Minister”.
He tweeted: “Its not true. I was there. Keir Starmer had nothing to do with the decisions taken. On the contrary, He supported me in bringing 100s of child sex abusers to justice.”
In 2020, charity Full Fact looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.
It found 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”, adding: “The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.
“A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.
“It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.”
The independent fact-checking organisation concluded: “Mr Starmer was head of the CPS when the decision was made not to prosecute Savile but he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.
“An official investigation commissioned later by Starmer criticised both prosecutors and police for their handling of the allegations.”
Savile died in 2011 aged 84 having never been brought to justice for his crimes.
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