CORBYN CAUGHT UP IN ROW OVER BOWING
REPUBLICAN Jeremy Corbyn’s team was forced yesterday to deny he failed to show proper respect to the Queen when she came to open Parliament.
The Labour leader stood with his head upright while Prime Minister Theresa May bowed hers towards the occupant of the throne.
The left winger later winked to an unseen observer.
The incident recalled past episodes in which Mr Corbyn’s willingness to display proper respect was questioned. But his aides insisted he had followed the correct protocol, which is for the Speaker, Commons Clerk David Natzler, Black Rod and the Serjeant at Arms to bow on behalf of MPs.
It was the Prime Minister who got it wrong, they said.
Their explanation appeared borne out by the fact that other senior Tories also did not bow, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and First Secretary of State Damian Green, who arrived in the upper chamber behind Mr Corbyn. Labour party aide Damian McBride analysed footage from state openings back to 2010 which, he said, showed neither main party leader bowing, except in 2013 when David Cameron and Ed Miliband slightly nodded.
When he became leader in 2015, there was controversy over whether Mr Corbyn would kneel when the Queen swore him in.
In the event, it appeared he did not. It was explained that Buckingham Palace does not insist on Privy Counsellors doing what they are not comfortable with.