More and more desperate Boris Johnson ordered his staff to intensify personal attacks on Labor leader Keir Starmer and his reputation as a lawyer, as trust in the prime minister’s leadership was crumbling among Tory members.
IN Observer said Johnson was so furious after the PM’s questions last Wednesday when asked to leave comments he made about the leader of the Labor Party and the IRA Speaker Lindsay Hoyle – that he approached his staff for leaving him inadequately prepared and asked them to come up with more lines of attack on the Labor leader’s career as a lawyer.
“He was furious,” said a knowledgeable source. “He told his team and CCHQ staff [Conservative campaign headquarters] that he wanted them to pursue Starmer’s legal credentials and double the number of attacks against him. “
Commons scandal erupts last week after Starmer tapped Johnson PMQ due to the recent exam fiasco and a 180 degree change in his party’s policies.
Johnson tried to change the situation by suddenly suggesting that the Labor leader was somehow sympathetic to the IRA because he was working under Jeremy Corbyn. “This is an opposition leader who has supported a politician who condones the IRA,” Johnson said, to the surprise of MPs on all sides.
An enraged Starmer noted that he actually spent five years of his legal career pursuing IRA terrorists and working with intelligence agencies to bring terrorists to justice. Although Hoyle asked Johnson to apologize, he refused to do so.
A Labor source said, “If Boris Johnson wants to argue with Keir about his past career, then go ahead. While Keir was a human rights lawyer or chief prosecutor, Johnson was fired for lying. “
Downing Street said last night that it was “not true” that Johnson blamed his employees for his work at PMQ, or that he told someone he would like to plot new attacks on Starmer while he was a lawyer.
But his actions and those of the government are increasingly causing alarm among Conservative MPs and concern in Whitehall.
Some seniors Conservatives worry that Starmer is regularly ahead of the Prime Minister in the weekly standoffs on Wednesdays. One senior Tory MP said, “We’re worried about Starmer’s competence.”
As the country faces a possible second wave of COVID-19 and the prospect of an economically devastating no-deal Brexit, there is evidence that the wider Tory party is losing faith in Johnson’s ability to lead them against Starmer – and signs that Chancellor Rishi Sunak has become new favorite conservative broad masses.
According to the most recent Tory poll by Conservative, a website for party activists, Johnson is now in the bottom third of the cabinet satisfaction rankings after being a runaway leader nine months ago.
In December 2019, shortly after the last general election, Johnson topped the net satisfaction rankings at plus 92.5%, while Sunak finished fourth at plus 78.5%.
Johnson is now down to 19th place, behind Baroness Evans, leader of the House of Lords, with a 24.6% rating. Sunak, meanwhile, is ahead with a plus of 82.5%.
Patrick Stevens, a former Crown Attorney’s colleague who headed her international arm, said the Labor leader’s legal career was impeccable.
“I worked with Keir Starmer in cramped quarters for five years. His work with the world-class counter-terrorism unit CPS – the most serious and sensitive the service has encountered – has been unwavering.
“He was equally committed to ensuring that the CPS plays an international role in the UK government’s national security strategies, which has led the CPS to engage in some of the most challenging jurisdictions around the world.
“His efforts went far beyond just getting the job done; I personally have not met anyone more committed to the rights of victims and witnesses and the protection of the public. “
On Saturday, ministers faced new challenges in persuading civil servants to “get back to work” as soon as possible.
The government says it wants 80% of civil servants to be able to attend your usual jobs at least once a week until the end of the month. But the unions called the government’s position outdated.
