Defiant PM turns fire on ‘Sir Beer Korma’
After months of his sanctimonious obsession, the great gaseous Zeppelin of his pomposity has been permanently punctured by the revelation that he is himself under investigation by the police. And yet Sir Beer Korma is failing to hold himself to the same high standards he demanded of me. He called for me to resign when the investigation began. Why is he in his place?
BORIS Johnson branded the Labour leader ‘Sir Beer Korma’ yesterday and hit back at him for not having resigned over his own lockdown drinking.
The Prime Minister accused Sir Keir Starmer of failing to hold himself to the same ‘high standards’ he had demanded of Mr Johnson.
The ‘great gaseous Zeppelin of his pomposity’ had been ‘permanently punctured’ by the fact police were now investigating him, Mr Johnson said during the Commons debate on Sue Gray’s report.
When the Metropolitan Police announced they were launching an investigation into the Downing Street gatherings in January, Sir Keir called on the Prime Minister to resign – before he had been issued with a fine.
But the Labour leader has not quit himself despite the fact he is now under investigation by Durham Police over an event he and his deputy Angela Rayner attended in April 2021, when indoor socialising was banned.
Sir Keir insists this gathering in Durham – at which he was pictured drinking a bottle of beer and enjoyed a curry – was a work event because it took place during campaigning for local elections.
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Johnson told him: ‘After months of his frankly sanctimonious obsession, the great gaseous Zeppelin of his pomposity has been permanently punctured and irretrievably by the revelation that he is himself – he didn’t mention this – he is himself under investigation by the police.
‘And yet – I am not going to mince my words, I am going to say this – Sir Beer Korma is currently failing to hold himself to the same high standards that he demanded of me. He called for me to resign when the investigation began. Why is he in his place?’
The Prime Minister added: ‘He is still there and so is the shadow deputy leader. I apologised when the revelations emerged.
‘I continue to apologise. I repeat that I am humbled by what has happened and we instituted profound changes throughout Number 10. But I think in view of the mess that he has found himself in, it would now be a sensible thing for him too to apologise so that we can all collectively move on. That I think is what the people of this country want to see above all.’
Sir Keir yesterday repeated his promise to step down if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice over alleged Covid rule-breaking.
Durham Police are investigating after the Labour leader was photographed drinking a beer in an MP’s office after a day of campaigning in April 2021. Under Covid rules at the time, indoor gatherings were banned except for work purposes.
Sir Keir said yesterday: ‘I have been clear what leadership looks like. I haven’t broken any rules and any attempt to compare a perfectly legal takeaway while working to this catalogue of criminality looks even more ridiculous today.
‘But if the police decide otherwise, I will do the decent thing and step down. The public need to know that not all politicians are the same. That not all politicians put themselves above their country. That honesty, integrity and accountability matter.’
Sir Keir urged Tory MPs to do ‘their bit’ and oust Mr Johnson.
A number of Conservative MPs referred to the Durham investigation when they raised questions with the Prime Minister.
Jack Brereton said: ‘Given what happened in Durham, the only people left to apologise in this chamber are on those Labour front benches opposite.’
Mr Johnson replied: ‘People in glass houses should not throw stones.’
‘I am humbled by what has happened’