Politics

Boris blasted by furious MPs for telling them they should honour murdered Jo Cox by ‘getting Brexit done’


BORIS Johnson has been blasted by furious MPs after he told the Commons they should honour Jo Cox by “getting Brexit done”.

The PM sparked outrage in the chamber after he was told to temper his language by Labour MP Paula Sheriff.

 Boris ohnson has been blasted by furious MPs after he told the Commons they should honour Jo Cox by “getting Brexit done”

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Boris ohnson has been blasted by furious MPs after he told the Commons they should honour Jo Cox by “getting Brexit done”Credit: AFP or licensors
 Labour MP Jo Cox, 41, was murdered in 2016 by Nazi-obsessed Thomas Mair

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Labour MP Jo Cox, 41, was murdered in 2016 by Nazi-obsessed Thomas MairCredit: PA:Press Association

The emotional clash in the Commons came after the PM was repeatedly challenged over his use of the word “surrender” to describe the bill passed by MPs to block Brexit earlier this month.

Ms Sheriff, MP for Dewsbury, fumed that Mr Johnson “continually used pejorative language to describe an Act of Parliament passed by this House”.

Pointing to a plaque in the chamber, commemorating Mrs Cox, she said: “We should not resort to using offensive, dangerous or inflammatory language for legislation that we do not like, and we stand here under the shield of our departed friend with many of us in this place subject to death threats and abuse every single day.”

“They often quote his words ‘Surrender Act’, ‘betrayal’, ‘traitor’ and I for one am sick of it.

We should not resort to using offensive, dangerous or inflammatory language for legislation that we do not like

Paula Sheriff

“We must moderate our language, and it has to come from the prime minister first.”

But firing back, the PM said: “I have to say, Mr Speaker, I’ve never heard such humbug in all my life.”

Tracey Brabin, who succeeded Mrs Cox as MP for Batley and Spen, said Mr Johnson needed to temper his remarks so that “we will all feel secure when we’re going about our jobs”.

Mr Johnson replied: “the best way to honour the memory of Jo Cox and indeed the best way to bring this country together would be, I think, to get Brexit done”.

Speaking this morning, Mrs Cox’s widower, Brendan Cox, said he felt “a bit sick” at the way her name was being used and appealed for both sides to calm down.

He just proved that he has no emotional intelligence because then to say that the best thing we can do to remember Jo is ‘to get Brexit done’ when Jo was a passionate Remainer.

Paula Sheriff MP

 

Ms Brabin told BBC’s Radio 5: “He just proved that he has no emotional intelligence because then to say that the best thing we can do to remember Jo is ‘to get Brexit done’ when Jo was a passionate Remainer .

“Only the day before her tragic murder she was on the Thames with her family campaigning to stay in the EU – it just seemed extraordinary.”

“It got gasps around the chamber, because remember that Jo worked cross-party – she had friends in all parties. And just the crassness of it was deeply shocking.”

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said all people “had a responsibility to be mild in our language when we’re speaking in this House or outside”.

“I’m afraid to say it’s something where all sides err from time to time and it’d be invidious to pick on individual examples but we have a responsibility of leadership,” he added.

COMMONS CLASH

Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan appeared to acknowledge concerns about Mr Johnson’s use of language.

She wrote on Twitter: “But at a time of strong feelings we all need to remind ourselves of the effect of everything we say on those watching us.”

Nicholas Soames MP, one of the 21 Tory rebels sacked by Mr Johnson for voting against the government over Brexit, said he was appalled by the tone of the debate.

Sir Nicholas, grandson of Winston Churchill, said: “I despair to be frank.

I have grown up in a house where I believe the job of the prime minister is to try to bring the country together and what the prime minister did yesterday was to drive it further apart.

Sir Nicholas Soames

“I have grown up in a house where I believe the job of the prime minister even under very difficult circumstances is to try to bring the country together and what the prime minister did yesterday was to drive it further apart.”

But Tory chairman James Cleverly defended the PM and said the “deeply uncomfortable” atmosphere in politics was unlikely to be resolved until Brexit was delivered.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that opposition parties preferred to “continue the circular argument around Brexit” rather than put it to bed.

“It is creating a highly-charged and uncomfortable atmosphere.

“The Conservative Government and the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, are trying to resolve this but the Opposition parties are refusing to do so.

At a time of strong feelings we all need to remind ourselves of the effect of everything we say on those watching us.

Nicky Morgan MP

 

“This can be de-escalated, the tempers can be taken out of this. But in order for that to happen, there needs to be a balance on both sides.”

The PM’s sister, Rachel Johnson, once and MEP candidate for Change UK – The Indepedent Group, has slammed his comments.

She told Sky News: “My brother is using words like ‘surrender’ and ‘capitulation’ as if the people standing in the way of the blessed will of the people, as defined by the 17.4 million votes in 2016, should be hung, drawn, quartered, tarred, and feathered.

“I think that is highly reprehensible.”

Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn slammed the PM’s language last night and said it “was indistinguishable from the far right”, while Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said Mr Johnson’s comments were “a disgrace”.

She added: “He heard the pleas of MPs, many of whom who have faced death threats, to moderate his language and dismissed their concerns with the same callous bluster that has become his trademark.”

If we end up not being able to resolve this, the last resort would have to be a referendum.

Amber Rudd MP

Former cabinet minister Amber Rudd – who quit the Government and the Tory Party over Mr Johnson’s approach to Brexit – told ITV’s Peston programme the premier’s remarks were “dishonest and dangerous”.

When asked if a referendum was a better option than a general election, Ms Rudd said: “Better? Probably yes … probably better than a general election, because my concern is a general election wouldn’t resolve anything.

“If we end up not being able to resolve this, the last resort would have to be a referendum.”

‘GUTTER’ POLITICS

During an interview with GMB this morning Mr Cox said British politics had “descended into the gutter” and that both sides of the Commons needed to think about their language.

He said: “We can disagree with each other passionately – Jo wouldn’t step back from what she believed in – that’s different from using frankly rhetorical flourishes.

“It’s the kind of language which creates a very dangerous environment where violence is more likely.

“That’s on all sides – not just Leavers and Remainers.

“There’s danger where we see the worst language and rhetoric from the other side and excuse our own.

“[We should] take a deep breath, to realise that language has real world consequences – my family are a living embodiment of that – and take personal responsibility for that.”

The best way to honour Jo is for all of us (no matter our views) to stand up for what we believe in, passionately and with determination. But never to demonise the other side

Brendan Cox

After the Commons clash last night, he said: “The best way to honour Jo is for all of us (no matter our views) to stand up for what we believe in, passionately and with determination. But never to demonise the other side and always hold onto what we have in common,” he tweeted.

PM TOLD TO APOLOGISE

Mr Johnson faced calls to apologise for the comments today when Labour MP Jess Philips tabled an urgent question on the incident in the Commons.

Ms Philips, who represents Birmingham Yardley, called on the PM to meet with her and Mrs Philips loved ones to see the hurt his words had caused.

Addressing the house she said: “I want to ask the PM to tell him that the bravest, strongest thing to say is ‘sorry’ it will make him look good, it will not upset the people want Brexit in this country if he acts for once like a statesmen.

“Calling me names and putting names in my mouth and in the mouth of my dead friend makes me cross and angry.

“It makes me scared even, but I will not react the Prime Minister wants me to react so I join in the chaos that keeps this hatred and fear on our streets.

“I simply ask the minister to ask the Prime Minister, who is notable by his bravery today, to meet with me in private with his advisors and some of my colleagues and my friends from Jo’s family so we can explain our grief.

“And try to make him understand why it is so abhorrent why he has chosen a strategy to divide rather than lead.”

However, Mr Johnson was not present during today’s session and sent junior minister Kevin Foster in place.

Mr Foster said the murder of Jo Cox was a “dreadful crime”, adding that the government must now resolve Brexit to solve the division in the House and the country.

He said: “The passions that this issue has inflamed will only carry on if there is not a resolution.”

Despite Mr Johnson’s attacks, opposition parties again made clear they would not agree to an election until they were sure the threat of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 was off the table.

Downing Street said if opposition MPs did not take up the Prime Minister’s offer to table a no-confidence motion, the Government would take it as a mandate to press on with Brexit.

Mr Johnson was forced back to Westminster, cutting short his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, after the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday his five-week suspension of Parliament was illegal.

The Government will, however, ask MPs on Thursday to agree to a three-day break for the Commons next week while the Tories stage their annual party conference in Manchester.

But amid the angry mood at Westminster, the opposition parties appear unlikely to agree, meaning Mr Johnson could be forced to rearrange his keynote speech due to be held on the final day on Wednesday.

MPs reject Tory request for three-day conference recess

MPs have rejected the Government’s request for a three-day recess to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Tories had warned that the economy of Manchester would be hit if opposition parties “scupper” their attempts to go ahead with their annual conference in the city next week.

But a motion asking for the Commons to be in recess on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week was defeated by 306 votes to 289, majority 17.

A senior Tory source insisted the conference would go ahead anyway, but acknowledged that it may have to be “scaled back” in places if MPs have to remain at Westminster.

With the four-day event which starts on Sunday estimated to be worth more than £30 million to Manchester, the source said that it would be local businesses which would suffer if it was curtailed.

A Number 10 source said: “If they do not allow Conservative Party conference to go ahead with a recess at the same time, it will be incredibly damaging for the economy of Manchester.”

After the Government lost the vote, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg announced non-controversial business for when the House sits on Monday and Tuesday next week.

He added that the Domestic Abuse Bill, which has cross-party support, will be debated on Wednesday October 2.

Mr Johnson is due to give his keynote conference speech on Wednesday, but it is expected that it would be rescheduled as it would clash with Prime Minister’s Questions.

 Jess Philips called on the PM to apologise

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Jess Philips called on the PM to apologise
 Paula Sheriff asked Mr Johnson to temper his language when discussing Brexit

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Paula Sheriff asked Mr Johnson to temper his language when discussing BrexitCredit: AFP or licensors
 Labour MPs were furious that the PM used Mrs Cox name in relation to Brexit

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Labour MPs were furious that the PM used Mrs Cox name in relation to BrexitCredit: PA:Press Association Wire


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