Angela Rayner was chastised in the Commons on Wednesday after she was accused of labelling a Tory MP 'scum' during his speech. Chris Clarkson was in the process of criticising Labour's exploitation of the pandemic when Rayner blurted out the insult. Both Clarkson and Rayner are Greater Manchester MPs, Clarkson having been elected when the red wall fell last December. The remark brought his speech to an abrupt halt and the deputy speaker intervened. Eleanor Laing was furious, but in calling a point of order Rayner neither apologised or even accepted she'd made the remark.
Click below to watch the full exchange.
Clarkson has since written to Rayner demanding a retraction and apology (see letter below). She has now reportedly released the following short statement: "I apologise for the language that I used in a heated debate in Parliament earlier".
Several colleagues of Clarkson have called on Keir Starmer to formally reprimand his deputy. How much lower can Labour's front bench sink during this crisis?
