oris Johnson was described as “petty” today after he walked out of the House of Commons chamber while Theresa May was speaking.
The Prime Minister was seen leaving shortly after his predecessor had stood up to speak during today’s major debate on the second national lockdown.
MPs could be heard gasping and condemning the apparent snub meanwhile Mrs May reacted with a grimace and shrugged.
Reacting to the incident, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted: “Boris Johnson is such a petty, ungracious character.”
Meanwhile, Neil Gray SNP MP for Airdrie and Shotts tweeted: “Theresa May stands up, Boris Johnson walks out.
“It is normal courtesy for the PM to hear the response from the third party, in this case coming next from [Patrick Grady MP], he chose not even to his listen to his predecessor PM. Graceless to say the least.”
Her colleague and former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith alluded to the apparent snub when he stood up to make his points.
He told MPs: “I’m sorry by the way that our Right Honourable Prime Minister wasn’t able to stay for our Honourable Friend the Member for Maidenhead but he must have been busy…she was making the point that I want to make now…”
Mrs May, a former Conservative prime minister, told MPs: “Can I first of all say to [Boris Johnson] that I don’t envy him and the Government, the decisions that they’re having to take and the difficult position that they find themselves in.
“This pandemic has challenged governments across the world and ministers have been under relentless pressure in dealing with this issue.
“But just as ministers are making tough decisions, so are Parliament, and Parliament will make better decisions if it is fully and properly informed.”
Mrs May said that the circuit-breaker proposed by Labour could have ended up being repeated “again and again and again”. She also warned it appears the Government is choosing statistics to support its Covid-19 policies rather than basing them on the data.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was approached for comment during a meeting of political journalists.
