Johnson referred to the late MP during a heated exchange in parliament
The prime minister Boris Johnson has been heavily criticised for comments made in the House of Commons on the first day of parliamentary proceedings since the supreme court deemed his prorogation of the House unlawful.
As the day wore on, the language within the House became increasingly incendiary – with Johnson referring to the decision to stop his suspension of parliament as “the surrender act”, the “capitulation act” and insisting that his parliamentary colleagues had “betrayed” the people.
This language led to a number of MPS criticising Johnson, and calling upon the prime minister to moderate his language at a time when MPs are reporting a rise in abuse and death threats.
One such MP is Paula Sherriff, a friend of Jo Cox, who asked Boris Johnson to stop using “dangerous” language.
Boris Johnson says the best way to honour Jo Cox is "to get Brexit done".
Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right extremist a week before the referendum on EU membership.
He shouted 'Britain first' in the process. pic.twitter.com/kGxQzDh6xo
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) September 25, 2019
Johnson’s response to this was to refer to it as “humbug”, but it was his response to another Labour MP, Tracy Brabin – who became MP for Batley and Spen following Jo Cox’s assassination – that provoked the most scorn.
After once again being urged to tone down his inflammatory language, Boris responded that the best way to honour the memory of Jo Cox is “to get Brexit done”.
Johnson was swiftly criticised by figures across the political spectrum for his comments. Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, called him a “disgrace”.
This Prime Minister is a disgrace.@paulasherriff made heartfelt plea for him to stop using inflammatory words like "surrender". She pointed at the plaque for murdered MP Jo Cox, and regular death threats MPs face, quoting such language.
Johnson said "humbug".
Utter disgrace.— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) September 25, 2019
Amber Rudd, who was formerly a member of his cabinet before stepping down earlier this month, called his comments “dishonest and dangerous”.
Amber Rudd was in Boris Johnson's cabinet until just a few days ago. She says the PM is using language – like "humbug" and "surrender" – to denigrate his opponents that is "dishonest and dangerous". https://t.co/OEstfyVPrw
— Robert Peston (@Peston) September 25, 2019
