Starmer in furious bust-up with the Commons Speaker after he’s ordered to finally start answering Kemi’s questions

Sir Keir Starmer lashed out at the Speaker of the House of Commons after he was ordered to answer questions from Kemi Badenoch today.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle interrupted the Prime Minister and reminded him that the questions were being asked to the Prime Minister, not the opposition leader.

‘Prime Minister, Prime Minister’s Questions. We have to concentrate,’ he told Sir Keir as the pair clashed.

Following the heated debate, the Prime Minister was seen approaching Sir Lindsay’s chair as he left the House to speak to him.

An MP who witnessed the incident said Sir Keir was clearly furious with the Speaker.

‘He was raging at Lindsay,’ they told the Daily Mail.

In one dramatic moment during the exchange, Sir Keir was even seen slamming his fist into the side of Sir Lindsay’s chair.

The Speaker of the Parliament later made a statement and said that Prime Ministers should remind the Prime Ministers of the ‘rules of engagement’ in the parliament from time to time.

Mr Speaker Lindsay Hoyle interrupted the Prime Minister and reminded that the questions were asked to the Prime Minister, not the opposition leader.

He pointedly added that this issue had been raised with No 10 officials ‘a number of times recently’, following similar interventions in previous weeks.

A spokesman said: ‘The Chair is not responsible for questions asked by members or answers given by Ministers.

‘Questions put to ministers should relate to matters for which they are officially responsible. Likewise, answers should be limited to the points included in the question.

‘The Prime Minister must frequently remind Prime Ministers and Ministers of the rules of engagement in Parliament.

‘The President has also raised this issue with No 10 officials on various occasions recently.’

A Conservative source said: ‘Starmer is so distracted he literally doesn’t even know how to answer questions at an event titled Prime Minister’s Questions.

‘The British people deserve much better than this hapless fool.’

Reform MP Sarah Pochin tweeted: ‘I welcome the Speaker holding Keir Starmer accountable for not answering questions.

‘It is unacceptable for the Prime Minister to treat Parliament, PMQs and the public with such contempt. PMQs are a forum for scrutiny, not a soapbox for political point-scoring, often aimed at Reform.

‘He is the Prime Minister for now. He should start acting like one.’

It comes as Sir Keir came under fire from all sides for refusing to reveal Labour’s delayed defense spending plans after a senior union leader told him to stop dithering and get on with it.

Unite’s Sharon Graham has warned the Prime Minister that his failure to produce the 10-year defense investment plan (DIP) is ‘a threat to national security’ because it risks losing specialist jobs.

The general secretary, who has clashed repeatedly with Sir Keir in recent months, has lined up alongside former Blair/Brown-era defense ministers and unlikely allies such as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to demand action.

But he differed from them by saying that the necessary money should come from a wealth tax, not from welfare cuts.

It comes as the Prime Minister again refused to give any timetable for the publication of his landmark defense plan today amid bitter infighting in the Cabinet.

Sir Keir said at PMQs that the 10-year investment plan, due to be published last autumn, would be announced ‘as soon as possible’ because Ms Badenoch objected to it.

He said he ‘respected’ former NATO chief Lord Robertson – the first Labor leader to demand more funding – but disagreed with his views.

QUENTIN LETTS: Purple-faced, eyes blazing, Starmer lunged at Sir Lindsay and then slammed his fist into the side of Mr Speaker’s throne.

Houston, we threw a tantrum. As Sir Keir Starmer left the House of Commons at the end of an aimless PMQ, he stopped briefly in the Speaker’s Bench and had a few words for Sir Lindsay Hoyle. During the session Speaker Hoyle had to admonish Sir Keir for once again asking questions about past Tory governments.

Mr Speaker had suggested that Sir Keir try to answer for his own responsibilities rather than shifting the blame to others. The Speaker of the Parliament said, ‘Prime Minister, these are the prime minister’s questions.’

That moment, at approximately 12.08pm, did not go well for Sir Keir. The speaker gave Hoyle a dirty look. You could order a pink hot dog with that hateful look.

About 26 minutes later, we had reached the end of the session and Ser Keir and his assistants were making their way towards the back swing doors of the chamber. Their route took them directly past Sir Lindsay. Ser Keir snapped.

I had a good view of the moment from the eagle’s nest, but I couldn’t hear exactly what was being said. Remember, it didn’t take a lip reader to know that this exchange was on the mature side; It’s the kind of thing a Mediterranean waiter might shout at a mulatto who steps under his feet at a tapas bar on a busy day.

‘£*$&+!!!’ said Sir Keir, or syllables to that effect. There were maybe six words in the first burst of speech. They focused on consonants. I couldn’t clearly see his tonsils shaking, but the prime minister’s face was purple. He was holding his official file tightly to his chest. The eyes were shining.

And normally such a boring little guy!

Speaker Hoyle is a proud Lancastrian. You don’t grow up in Chorley without learning how to stand up to an ambush and kick your attacker in the nose if necessary. Sir Lindsay duly conveyed some verbal statements to Sir Keir. They were like ‘don’t blame me mate, you messed up’. The Prime Minister leaned back a little and blinked a few times before pushing his nose forward once more. He curled his lower lip and spat another sentence. Boy, oh boy. He was very angry. This second outburst ended with him slamming his fist into the side of Ser Lindsay’s throne.

Please note that all of this takes place amidst the great maelstrom of Whips, ministers, clerks and backbenchers that swirl around the President’s Chair at the end of any PMQ. The Prime Minister was losing his rags to Parliament’s impartial arbiter, and he was doing so in full view of not only his soldiers but also the stunned Tories.

Why in such a steaming swamp? Could he know that his premiership was a disaster? Kemi Badenoch had gone under the cloak once again, asking a series of serious questions about defense spending and doing so in a smoky tone. Some of Sir Keir’s answers were twisted, others sarcastic. ‘I remember!’ he screamed at one point, referring to his mocking of the Opposition’s non-war policy at earlier PMQs.

War threatens the world. Our economy is in a dizzying state. Oil sources are questionable. However, we have a prime minister who is angry and fragile due to some minor incidents in the parliament.

After Sir Keir had struck the arm of Sir Lindsay’s chair, the Speaker turned his head away; he was no longer willing to spare a cranky prime minister the time of day. Thereupon, ladies and gentlemen, Sir Keir, who had previously introduced himself to the nation as the diplomatic representative of peace and reconciliation, left the hall with remarkable rapidity. I’ve never seen it move faster. To imagine how powerfully it leaves the scene, you have to imagine a water skier being stunned at the beginning of the journey when the motorboat steps on the gas very suddenly.

Please don’t let Sir Angry near the nuclear button.