Once again we see a parade of left-wing and centrist MPs performatively moan about Boris’s language and claim it’s directly leading abuse on the streets. In the wake of the protestors shouting at Starmer last night we’ve seen the likes of David Lammy, Jess Philips and Angela Rayner queue up to slam the PM – none of whom have illustrious track records when it comes to extreme language:

• Angela Rayner endorsed Eleanor Laing’s tweet that “elected representatives must be able to go about their work without the fear of verbal or physical attacks”, after calling Tories “scum” at Labour conference.
• Liam Byrne said “now we see clearly the kind of behaviour Boris Johnson is prepared to incite” after previously accusing the PM of being guilty of treason
• Jess Phillips accused the PM of not being “a clown he’s a danger”, after famously saying she will “knife Corbyn in the front”.
• Ed Davey lectured the PM that his “words have real-world consequences”, having previously called for a remain alliance in Uxbridge to “decapitate” Boris.
• David Lammy, himself involved in the scuffle, said “Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy”. In 2019 he compared Leavers to Nazis, then doubled down saying the comparison “wasn’t strong enough”. 

Read the full list of historic hypocrisies courtesy of Guido here. 

It’s not just Labour MPs. Boris sparked similar outrage in 2019 when Labour MPs accused him of inciting violence against them, a claim he described from the dispatch box as “humbug”. Despite similar outrage from Labour MPs and the media, Tory MPs not only backed the PM, the likes of Julian Smith were perfectly happy to continue serving in his cabinet and then plaster Boris all over their leaflets in the 2019 election. Now they’ve been kicked out of the cabinet, they’re free to discover a new pious, retweet-seeking morality. Spare us the holier-than-thou act…