Prime Minister apologises for ‘overly rude’ comment that MP ‘talks rubbish’
The Prime Minister apologised to Liz Saville Roberts at the despatch box on Tuesday, as he took questions about the UK agreement with the EU.
Sir Keir Starmer has said his comment that the Plaid Cymru Westminster leader “talks rubbish” was “overly rude”.
The Prime Minister apologised to Liz Saville Roberts at the despatch box on Tuesday, as he took questions about the UK agreement with the European Union.
Ms Saville Roberts told the Commons: “The Prime Minister once argued and we quote, ‘we should retain the benefits of the single market’.
“Given his recent tendency to dismiss the views of others, what would he say to his younger self?”
Sir Keir replied: “I think last week I was overly rude and I apologise.
“I do respect the honourable member.”
Responding to her question, the Prime Minister described “red lines” on the single market in Labour’s 2024 manifesto and added the Government had “kept those red lines and delivered a very good deal”.
At last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Ms Saville Roberts asked Sir Keir about a speech he made to launch the Government’s Immigration White Paper.
She said Sir Keir “once spoke of compassion and dignity for migrants, and for defending free movement” but added he now “talks of ‘islands of strangers’ and ‘taking back control’”.
Ms Saville Roberts asked: “It seems the only principle he consistently defends is whichever he last heard in a focus group. So I ask him, is there any belief he holds which survives a week in Downing Street?”
The Prime Minister replied: “Yes, the belief that she talks rubbish.”
He also told the Commons: “I want to lead a country where we pull together and walk into the future as neighbours and as communities, not as strangers, and the loss of control of migration by the last government put all of that at risk, and that’s why we’re fixing the system based on principles of control, selection and fairness.”
Launching the Immigration White Paper last week, Sir Keir said in a speech that “nations depend on rules – fair rules” and added: “Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
He said the strategy – including tougher English language requirements and a university degree threshold for skilled worker visa applicants – would help “take back control” of Britain’s borders and “close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy and our country”.
