Politics

Speaker John Bercow blamed for igniting climate of personal abuse in the Commons


A CABINET minister has blamed Speaker John Bercow for igniting a climate of personal abuse in the Commons.

The allegation came as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace rallied to Boris Johnson’s side for his use of strong language over Brexit, such as ‘surrender’.

 Cabinet minister Ben Wallace have blamed Speaker John Bercow for igniting a climate of personal abuse in the Commons

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Cabinet minister Ben Wallace have blamed Speaker John Bercow for igniting a climate of personal abuse in the CommonsCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the PM is being 'unfairly singled out' for abuse over the coarsening of the political debate

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Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the PM is being ‘unfairly singled out’ for abuse over the coarsening of the political debateCredit: Alamy Live News

Ben Wallace told The Sun that the PM is being “unfairly singled out” for abuse over the coarsening of the political debate.

Instead, he pointed the finger at Mr Bercow for starting the toxic atmosphere in the chamber – despite being one of Boris’s most bitter critics over his bruising exchanges with Labour MPs this week.

Mr Wallace said: “There are people in our Parliament who hold quite a strong responsibility for personalising political debate.

“I have watched the Speaker personalise time and time again his criticism of colleagues. I’ve seen him consistently ridicule colleagues.

“That has an effect, as he is the leader of political discourse in this country

THE PM VOWED TO STICK TO HIS GUNS

Mr Wallace added: “People are choosing to be outraged at the moment when in fact, we should all be upset over the last decade of the slide in political discourse”.

Development Secretary Alok Sharma also defended the PM’s use of the term “Surrender Act” to describe a law to delay Brexit if there is no deal.

He said: “If you look at the fundamentals of what that does, it does surrender our ability to walk away”.

The defences came as ex-Cabinet minister Amber Rudd accuses Mr Johnson of inciting violence with his strong phrases.

She told the Evening Standard: “It’s the sort of language people think legitimises a more aggressive approach and sometimes violence”.

But the PM vowed to stick to his guns.

Speaking during a hospital visit in Essex, Mr Johnson said: “I think the threats against MPs, and particularly female MPs, are absolutely appalling and we’re doing a lot of work to give MPs the security that they need.

“But then there’s another question which is – can you use words like ‘surrender’ to describe a certain act or a certain bill?

“And quite frankly I think that you can. If you say that you can’t, then you’re impoverishing political debate because after all, the use of that kind of metaphor has been going on for hundreds of years.”

Commons speaker John Bercow slams the behaviour of MPs as toxic after Parliament reconvened following unlawful prorogation ruling



 





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