Racists who post vile messages on social media are to be banned from football matches in a change to the law, Boris Johnson has confirmed.
The Prime Minister announced the change - which ministers said yesterday was being "looked at" - in a furious PMQs session where he was accused of having given racists the "green light".
Mr Johnson dodged questions on why he refused to condemn fans who booed players taking the knee, in a stand against racism, at the start of Euro 2020.
Instead he said: "What we’re doing is today taking practical steps to ensure the football banning order regime is changed so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match.
"No ifs, no buts, no exceptions and no excuses."
But as Mr Johnson tried to emphasise his anti-racist credentials, Keir Starmer claimed: "The PM isn’t kidding anyone in this house, he’s not kidding the public, and he’s not even kidding his own MPs."
No10 later said there will be a "swift" 12 week consultation on the changes but could not guarantee they would come into force before 2024.
Keir Starmer said: "We can all see what’s happened here - the government have been trying to stoke a culture war, they’ve realised they’re on the wrong side, and now they hope that nobody’s noticed."
Despite cracking down on judicial review, legislating against universities who "cancel" speakers, creating new criminal offences against defacing statues, and branding taking the knee as a "gesture", Mr Johnson told the House of Commons: "I don’t want to engage in a political culture war of any kind."
He added: "I want to get on with delivering for the people of this country. He simply wants to get on with dithering."
But Keir Starmer replied: "Give me a break. Football’s a game, racism isn’t.
"Far from giving racism the red card, the Prime Minister gave it the green light."
Labour's leader added: "I’ll tell you the worst kind of gesture politics - putting an England shirt on over a shirt and tie while not condemning those booing."
It comes after the Government faced calls to legislate for a ban so culprits who hurl racial abuse on the web are blocked from entering stadiums. Currently, football banning orders do not cover offences committed online.
More than a million people have signed a change.org petition calling for the sanction after three England players who missed penalties suffered online abuse after Sunday's Euro 2020 final.
Mr Johnson told the Commons: “I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings we saw on Sunday night.”
But there were furious clashes at PMQs over the past comments of Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel, who both claimed the England team's decision to take the knee against racism was a "gesture".
Ms Patel even said of fans who booed the knee: "That’s a choice for them quite frankly. I’ve not gone to a football match to even contemplate that."
Keir Starmer raised comments by England player Tyrone Mings, who accused Ms Patel of "stoking" racism by refusing to condemn racist fans.
But a Tory MP was accused of heckling: "Labour Party member!"
Sir Keir condemned the heckle, which was not caught on the Commons audio feed, saying: "Is that really the response? Is that it?"
The Labour leader's spokesman later said it was "totally disgraceful, and it just shows the scale of the problem the Conservative Party has got on this issue - that the response of a Conservative MP when serious issues are being raised is to shout out in that way.
"That is something Boris Johnson should condemn directly." The spokesman refused to say if Tyrone Mings was a member, saying: "It’s not relevant".
The Prime Minister insisted: "Nobody defends booing the England side."
He added that Home Secretary Priti Patel has been fighting racism "all her life" while also seeking to take "practical steps to advance the cause of black and minority ethnic groups".
Mr Johnson asked Sir Keir to retract a leaflet from the Batley and Spen by-election, noting it was condemned as "dog whistle racism".
He said he had last night met Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram at Downing Street, threatening them with fines worth 10% of global revenue "unless they get hate and racism off their platforms".
But the proposals are not new, and Keir Starmer said: "The Online Harms Bill has been promised for there years. I’m not sure a 15 minute chat at a garden party moves things forward that significantly."
As PMQs moved on, Boris Johnson insisted some of his past comments as a journalist have been taken out of context.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford referred to an article in which Mr Johnson used the phrase "flag waving picaninnies with watermelon smiles".
The Prime Minister said: "I have commented many times about the words that I have said in the past and I think the House understands how you can take things out of context.
"I think people do understand that, but what they also understand is that there is a chance now to hold these internet companies to account and to make sure that they face fines running to 10% of their global income if they fail to take hate and racism off their platforms."
Mr Blackford replied: "Still no contrition, still no apology."
Mr Blackford also asked: "This UK Government's own report on racism, the Sewell report, said that there was no systemic problem in the UK. I think the England men's football team would beg to differ.
"After the shocking racism on show over the last week does the Prime Minister still stand by his Government's belief that systemic racism is not a problem that exists in the United Kingdom?"
Mr Johnson replied: "I do think racism is a problem in the Untied Kingdom and I believe it needs to be tackled and it needs to be stamped out with some of the means I have described this morning."
He also said the Government is the "most diverse in the history of this country", adding: "If you are a young person growing up in a black or ethnic minority group in this country we are the party that represents hope and opportunity in this country."
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