BORIS JOHNSON’S SENIOR advisor has said that said it’s “not surprising” that MPs are being targeted by angry members of the public over Brexit.
Saying that this is a “walk in the park” compared to the referendum in 2016, Dominic Cummings said last night that the situation “can only be resolved by parliament honouring its promise to respect the result”.
“We are enjoying this, we are going to leave and we are going to win,” he said, adding that MPs were “disconnected” from what people think “in the real world”.
Earlier, a Labour MP confronted Cummings to say he’d had “death threats overnight” to which the senior advisor replied “get Brexit done”.
"I've had death threats overnight... it's a disgrace"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 26, 2019
Labour MP Karl Turner's staff film an encounter with Boris Johnson's senior adviser, Dominic Cummingshttps://t.co/2JL9D2WW2f pic.twitter.com/agGnyOiUMR
Debates in the House of Commons have been filled with tension this week after the Supreme Court ruled against Johnson’s government and said that his proroguing of parliament was unlawful. It prompted a quick recall of parliament and has been characterised by angry, fractious scenes in recent days.
Cummings comments at a book launch last night double down on the prime minister’s refusal to apologise for his language against opponents, where he used words like “betrayal” and “surrender”.
Johnson also dismissed a Labour MP’s complaint that his “inflammatory” language risked provoking attacks as “humbug”.
Several MPs asked Johnson to refrain from using such language with Tracy Brabin MP, who succeeded Cox in her former constituency, saying that members should “feel secure when we’re going about our jobs”.
In response, Johnson said: “What I will say is that the best way to honour the memory of Jo Cox and indeed the best way to bring this country together would be, I think, to get Brexit done.”
The Church of England, meanwhile, has criticised the rhetoric being used in recent days as “not worthy of our country”.
The parliamentary tensions have prompted 120 archbishops and bishops to issue a statement warning against “further entrenching our divisions”.
“We call on politicians to adhere rigorously to the rule of law and on all to respect and uphold the impartiality of the courts and our judiciary,” the statement said.
It is easy to descend into division and abuse – climbing out and finding unity again takes far longer. Further entrenching our divisions, whether from uncertainty or from partisanship, is not worthy of our country nor the leadership we now need.
Former prime minister John Major also went on the attack against Johnson yesterday, accusing his party of now acting as a “Brexit Party tribute band” and that no previous government would have behaved in such a “reckless and divisive” manner.
Major said Johnson had only “lip service” to the Supreme Court ruling that the prorogation of Parliament had been unlawful and warned he could try to circumvent the law designed to prevent a no-deal break.
He said he feared the government could try to bypass the so-called Benn Act by an executive Order in Council, suspending it until after 31 October when the UK is set to leave the EU.
“I should warn the Prime Minister that – if this route is taken – it will be in flagrant defiance of Parliament and utterly disrespectful to the Supreme Court,” he said.
It would be a piece of political chicanery that no-one should ever forgive or forget.
With reporting from the Press Association
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