The House of Commons became so belligerent on Monday that two members of Parliament were ejected for calling Prime Minister Keir Starmer a liar.
Starmer arrived at a hostile Parliament on Monday to answer for his government’s “staggering” decision to appoint former ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson despite his known ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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During his appearance, the Labour leader attempted to present a post-mortem on how Mandelson — who also carried concerning ties to the People’s Republic of China — was installed despite the United Kingdom Security Vetting team advising against his appointment.
Starmer claimed that officials within the Foreign Office overruled the United Kingdom Security Vetting team’s recommendation and “did not pass this information to me, to the foreign secretary, to her predecessor, the deputy prime minister, to any other minister, or even to the former Cabinet secretary.”
“I know many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible,” he told the members of Parliament before an outburst of laughter from the opposition. He continued: “To that, I can only say they are right. It beggars belief that throughout this timeline, officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold information from senior ministers.”
Starmer has blamed Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins for refusing to divulge the vetting team’s recommendation against Mandelson’s approval. Robbins was sacked last week following an investigation.
Robbins has defended himself to the government and the public by claiming that he was not at liberty to reveal the vetting team’s findings under the government’s standard procedures.
Multiple members of Parliament were so aggressive in their skepticism that they were ordered out of the chamber.
Reform MP Lee Anderson was the first legislator evicted after accusing the prime minister of “lying” to Parliament and the British people.
Direct accusations of lying or intentionally misleading fellow MPs are not allowed in the Commons.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle asked Anderson to retract the comment, but the MP refused.
“Mr. Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you and your office, but I will not withdraw it. That man couldn’t lie straight in bed,” he replied before being ordered out.
Zarah Sultana, a former Labour MP who defected to found Your Party in July of last year, went even further. She accused Starmer of “gaslighting the nation” and called the prime minister a “bare-faced liar.”
Hoyle ordered Sultana to leave the chamber immediately or else be “named,” a penalty that typically results in a multi-day suspension from the body.
The MP attempted to plead her case, arguing she has a “duty to the House and my constituents to tell the truth and the prime minister is a liar.” Lindsay, outraged at her refusal to comply, ordered her removal and held a vote that confirmed the proposed penalty.
Robbins is slated to appear before Parliament on Tuesday to give his testimony on how the Mandelson appointment unfolded. He is expected to argue that informing the prime minister of Mandelson’s vetting failure would have violated the government’s policy of confidentiality on the matter.
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who accused Starmer of deliberately refusing to inquire into Mandelson’s vetting because he “didn’t want to know,” successfully lobbied for an emergency debate on Tuesday following Robbins’s testimony.
The prime minister will be compelled to appear at that debate.
