Angela Rayner Apologises For Calling Tory MP 'Scum' In Commons
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has apologised for calling a Tory MP “scum” during a Commons debate on Covid-19 restrictions for Greater Manchester.
Chris Clarkson, who represents Heywood and Middleton, had said Labour was guilty of “opportunism” and “hindsight behaviour” after high-profile rows between mayor Andy Burnham and Downing Street.
He also criticised Labour shadow education secretary Kate Green, who recently was forced to apologise for saying Labour activists should not “let a good crisis go to waste”.
Rayner could be heard heckling Clarkson from her position on the Labour benches.
“Excuse me, did [Rayner] just call me scum?” Clarkson said.
Eleanor Laing, the deputy Speaker of the Commons, also intervened.
“From the frontbench, we will not have remarks like that, not under any circumstances, no matter how heartfelt it might be. Not at all,” she told Rayner.
Later on Wednesday evening, Rayner said: “I apologise for the language that I used in a heated debate in parliament earlier.”
It is understood that Rayner was upset at being accused of opportunism after opening the debate with comments about her aunt, who died of Covid-19 last week.
All kicking off in the Chamber as Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner gets a telling off for calling Tory MP Chris Clarkson "scum" in the debate on support for local areas. pic.twitter.com/woNFNofsnS
— Jonathan Reilly (@thejonnyreilly) October 21, 2020
Rayner then called a point of order and claimed that Clarkson had been “saying things about the frontbench which are inaccurate in their speech and would ask [him] to withdraw it.”
Tory MPs lined up to call on Rayner to clarify her words and apologise.
Andrew Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, tweeted: “Absolutely disgraceful. @AngelaRayner is the deputy leader of the Labour Party. She should be ashamed and @Keir_Starmer should make her apologise.
“We’ve become numb to abusive language in politics on...
