Penny Mordaunt accuses Labour Party of ‘damaging’ the office of Speaker

Speaking after delivering the weekly business statement, leader of the House Penny Mordaunt called on Labour to “reflect on the damage” the party has done to the office of Speaker.

She said: “I would ask all honourable members not to do this House a further disservice by suggesting the shameful events that took place yesterday were anything other than party politics on behalf of the Labour Party”.

She added: “I would never have done to him what the Labour Party have done to him”.

Suggesting Keir Starmer pressured the Speaker into selecting the Labour amendment yesterday ahead of the SNP debate on a ceasefire in Gaza, Mordaunt argued: “We have seen into the heart of Labour’s leadership”

“[Starmer] puts the interests of the Labour Party before the interests of the British people, and it’s the Labour leader that doesn’t get Britain. And the past week has shown that he is not fit to lead it”, she added.

It came after shadow leader of the House Lucy Powell praised the actions of commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle yesterday.

Powell said: “I am grateful to [the Speaker] for seeking to enable the widest possible views being expressed. No one could have foreseen events unfolding as they did”.

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