Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of rejecting an offer of political co-operation in the fight against coronavirus, as he called on the Prime Minister to “get a grip” of the crisis.
The gloves came off at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday with a rattled Johnson claiming Starmer was undermining public confidence when he should be more supportive of the government.
But the Labour leader batted the complaint away, taking a more aggressive line of questioning in the weekly Commons exchanges.
Starmer had earlier used a newspaper interview to state: “I am putting the Prime Minister on notice that he has got to get a grip and restore public confidence in the Government’s handling of the epidemic.”
At the despatch box, Starmer said the PM neglected to condemn the death of George Floyd, whose death in police hands sparked a week of riots across the USA.
He quizzed Johnson on why a track and trace system in England is not yet fully operational, and why the official Statistics Authority had criticised the government’s reporting of the number of tests carried out.
And he revealed he was still waiting for a reply to a letter offering consensus on schools opening in England. Johnson said he'd included Starmer in a call with opposition leaders. Labour officials later said the PM and Starmer have not had a one-to-one call since April 29.
In the Commons, Starmer asked the Prime Minister for the current Covid-19 alert level and R infection level. Johnson thumped the despatch box in anger as he admitted the coronavirus alert level in England is still at four, days after lockdown was eased for a second time.
Johnson added: “I really do not see the purpose in his endless attacks on public trust and confidence.”
Starmer said the Prime Minister was “confusing scrutiny for attacks”.
He added: “I have supported the Government openly and I’ve taken criticism for it, but boy he makes it difficult to support this Government over the last two weeks.”
