Keir Starmer denies threatening to withdraw support for Hoyle

       Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to deny threatening the Speaker of the House of Commons yesterday, after he succeeded in getting Sir Lindsay Hoyle to break Commons rules in his favour.

       The Labour leader was at the heart of the enormous Westminster storm yesterday, which saw MPs in uproar after Sir Lindsay broke precedent to allow MPs a vote on a Labour amendment to the SNP’s Gaza motion.

       Both the SNP and the Tories spent the afternoon tearing into the Commons speaker and Sir Keir Starmer, accusing Sir Lindsay Hoyle of being bullied by the Labour leader.

       Sir Keir Starmer has now said he “absolutely” did not threaten the Speaker.

       Speaking to broadcasters this lunchtime, the Labour leader said “of course” he had discussions with Sir Lindsay.

       LIVE UPDATES: Speaker fights for political survival as almost 60 MPs call for him to go

       READ MORE: Lindsay Hoyle fights for political survival as 59 MPs call for him to go

       Sir Keir denied threatening the Speaker, but notably dodged another crucial question (Image: Sky News)

       He said: “I drafted a Labour amendment, which not only dealt with how we stop the fighting now and get aid in but also about what the long-term plan is to make sure we get to a peaceful outcome.

       “I wanted that amendment put before parliament because I wanted to make sure it was a good debate and that we had the widest possible options.

       “Of course, there were discussions with the Speaker, but all party leaders speak to the Speaker.

       “There was absolutely no threat to the Speaker in the course of that. What we wanted to do was make sure Parliament had the broadest possible debate on an issue that is very very important."

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       Sir Lindsay Hoyle reiterated his apology to the SNP this morning (Image: Parliament Live)

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       Asked if he could guarantee that no Labour MP warned Sir Lindsay that he could lose Labour’s support to continue as speaker if he didn’t select Labour’s amendment, Sir Keir notably dodged the question.

       Asked precisely what pressure he put on the Speaker, Sir Keir said he “simply urged the speaker to ensure the debate could be as broad as possible”.

       This morning Penny Mordant said the farce was further proof that the Labour leader is “not fit to lead Britain”.

       The Leader of the Commons accused Sir Keir of putting “the interests of the Labour Party before the interests of the British people”.

       She said: "It's the Labour leader that doesn't get Britain and the past week has shown that he is not fit to lead it."

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       She fumed: “We have seen into the heart of Labour's leadership. Nothing is more important than the interests of the Labour Party”.

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       "The Labour Party before principle, the Labour Party before individual rights, the Labour Party before the reputation and honour of the decent man that sits in Speaker's chair.”

       Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace joined Ms Mordaunt this morning in slamming Sir Keir Starmer, demanding to know why the man who so often trades on his past as a lawyer “seems to think Commons rules should not be followed”.

       He demanded to know: “Is it one rule for Starmer and one for the rest of us?”

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