MPs blame Boris Johnson’s ‘poison’ after protesters mob Keir Starmer

MPs from all sides angrily rounded on Boris Johnson and accused him of whipping up political poison after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, was set upon by protesters who accused him of protecting the paedophile Jimmy Savile.

Johnson provoked widespread fury last week when he suggested Starmer had protected Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions. The comments drew criticism from two former Tory chief whips and prompted the resignation of a long-serving aide.

On Monday, Starmer and the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, had to be bundled into a police car after anti-vax protesters surrounded him near parliament with shouts of "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile". One witness said a protester carried a hangman's noose prop, which another protester had joked was for Starmer.

Lammy said it was "no surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the dispatch box. Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy. And they won't ever stop me doing my job."The former chief whip Julian Smith was among at least seven Tory MPs to criticise Johnson as he described the events as appalling. "It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full," he tweeted.

Calls for an apology also came from Sir Roger Gale, Anthony Mangnall and Tobias Ellwood - Tory MPs who have sent letters of no confidence in Johnson - as well as Stephen Hammond, who has expressed significant concerns about the prime minister.

Tory MP Rob Largan also said it was time to defuse the situation. "Words matter. What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond parliament. It can have serious real world consequences. Elected representatives have a responsibility to lower the temperature of debate, not add fuel to the fire."

Johnson said the behaviour "directed at the leader of the opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful" but stopped short of apologising for his remarks. "All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable. I thank the police for responding swiftly," he said.