Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has claimed Rishi Sunak is being “bullied” by his own MPs and he used PMQs to mock the prime minister after a fresh Tory civil war erupted.
Sir Keir said Mr Sunak was “endlessly” fighting with his own party and that the more “they slag him off behind his back, the louder they cheer in here”.
It comes after Liz Truss ally Sir Simon Clarke claimed the Conservative Party could face “extinction” unless the prime minister resigns.
Sir Simon, who served in the Treasury under Mr Sunak, made the intervention in the Daily Telegraph to urge his colleagues to sack the PM ahead of the looming general election, arguing he “has sadly gone from asset to anchor”.
Tory MPs have rounded on Sir Simon’s attempted coup, branding his move against Mr Sunak as “foolish” and “facile”. A senior Conservative MP told The Independent Sir Simon was “flying a kite that’s already broken” and they did not expect fellow right-wingers to join his rebellion.
However, the Conservative Democratic Organisation – led by allies of former prime minister Boris Johnson – are demanding a leadership vote for fear of “electoral disaster”.
