Savile victims ‘appalled’ by Johnson’s claim in Commons
Downing Street says Johnson ‘stands by’ comments
VICTIMS OF Jimmy Savile are “appalled” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrongly claiming in Parliament that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had failed to prosecute him, a lawyer who helped represent more than 160 of his survivors in civil cases has said.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at the Slater and Gordon law firm, said
Mr Johnson should withdraw the discredited remark and apologise for it.
“I’ve spoken to a handful of clients and they are universally appalled at what Johnson did,” he said.
“What angers them more than anything is the idea of Johnson, who has not got any track record of supporting child abuse victims, using this as some way of getting out of a political hole and weaponising what happened to them.”
Mr Johnson made the comments on Monday when he lashed out at the Labour leader, a former director of public prosecutions, during Commons clashes about the report on alleged lockdown-busting parties in No 10.
As he battled to defend himself from the Partygate row, Mr Johnson claimed Sir Keir “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said yesterday he was “far from satisfied that the comments in question were appropriate” but also said “procedurally nothing disorderly occurred but such allegations should not be made lightly”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson “stands by what he said in the House”.
Mr Scorer said that in total contrast to what Mr Johnson had said in Parliament on Monday, victims of Savile had in fact been generally appreciative of the steps taken by Sir Keir on the issue when he was in charge of the CPS.
“He instituted a review which examined the whole history and then made recommendations about how to avoid a similar situation arising,” he said.
“From the point of view of my clients, Savile was dead and couldn’t be prosecuted. But what they wanted to see was people learning lessons from mistakes that had been made.
“They could see that Starmer was absolutely trying to do that.”
SENIOR CONSERVATIVES in Yorkshire publicly reprimanded Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday and called for him to retract his “baseless slurs” after he suggested Sir Keir Starmer was behind the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
Former Chief Whip Julian Smith and peer Baroness Warsi both called out the Prime Minister, after he claimed Sir Keir “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while facing questions on Sue Gray’s report on Monday.
However, Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister stands by the controversial comments, although his official spokesman declined to repeat the assertion, arguing that it would clash with the principle of civil service impartiality.
Mr Smith called on Mr Johnson to withdraw the “smear” made in the House of Commons, believing it “cannot be defended”.
The Skipton and Ripon MP tweeted: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Savile yesterday is wrong and cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn.
“False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust and can’t just be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate.”
His sentiments were echoed by Tory peer Baroness Warsi, who said: “Parliament cannot become a place to peddle tropes, conspiracy theories and falsehoods. This damages our democracy.”
In 2020, the fact-checking charity, Full Fact, looked into the claim that Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009.
Full Fact said Sir Keir was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”, adding: “The allegations against Savile were dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.
“A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation.
“It did not suggest that Mr
Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.”
The party-gate fallout is continuing to send shockwaves through Westminster, as the Prime Minister contends with unhappy backbenchers and dropping poll ratings following the revelations of
parties in Downing Street which allegedly breached Covid-19 restrictions.
Yesterday, Number 10 pledged that it would inform the public if Mr Johnson received a fine as a result of the Scotland Yard investigation, having previously indicated that the information might not be disclosed.
It was the second apparent Uturn over the scandal in as many days, after Monday’s promise that an updated version of Ms Gray’s report would be published once the Metropolitan Police have finished its investigations.
The Tory MP for York Outer,
Julian Sturdy, said there is “no justification” for the Government to “airbrush” Ms Gray’s full findings, and shared his “disappointment” having read the senior civil servant’s “stripped back update”.
In a statement yesterday morning, he said: “The unredacted report needs to be published as soon as possible so our actions in response can be fully informed.”
He added: “While it is not clear how much of Sue Gray’s report is being withheld for the duration of the Metropolitan Police investigation, we can say for certain that an overhaul of how Downing
Street and the Prime Minister’s private office operates is needed.
“To have the privilege of working as an elected representative or as a civil servant comes with the responsibility of observing the highest standards, yet the limited findings published yesterday confirm repeated failures in judgement and leadership.
“There is no justification for the Government to airbrush Sue Gray’s findings, no matter how damning they may be.
“Quite simply, the unredacted report needs to be published as soon as possible so our actions in response can be fully informed.”
Parliament cannot become a place to peddle tropes. Conservative peer Baroness Warsi.