Jeremy Corbyn took a bizarre approach to today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, choosing largely to have a go at the likely leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson, rather than the woman opposite him. He choose to focus his questions to Theresa May on cuts to legal aid, branding them a ‘Lib Dem decision’ and pointing out that Jo Swinson was the junior coalition minister who took the cuts through the Commons. It was additionally odd that Corbyn chose to talk about legal aid, given it offered a reasonably easy leap for May into the way the party is handling tonight’s Panorama on anti-Semitism.
But the big story of the day was Sir Kim Darroch’s resignation as UK Ambassador to Washington, something Corbyn should have exploited to his advantage. May opened the session by telling MPs that she saw it as a ‘matter of great regret that he has felt it necessary to leave’. She then took a swipe at Boris Johnson by saying:
‘Good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frank advice. I want all our public servants to have the confidence to be able to do that. I hope the House will reflect on the importance of defending our values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure.’
It is being widely reported that Sir Kim decided he had to resign when Johnson refused to back him in last night’s TV debate, and May’s final line was clearly a shot at the former Foreign Secretary. It seems everyone turned up to Prime Minister’s Questions wanting to have a go at someone other than the person they were facing.
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