Inside Politics: Savile row reignites as Starmer accosted by baying mob

Conspiracy theorists confront Labour leader in Westminster and hurl Savile slurs at him a week after Johnson’s Commons comments, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

There were more dark and ugly scenes at Westminster last night after a baying mob of conspiracy theorists accosted Keir Starmer, some of whom shouted Jimmy Savile slurs at the Labour leader – just a week after Boris Johnson launched his unsavoury and unfounded attack on him at the Commons dispatch box. The prime minister’s refusal to apologise and retract the remarks in full resulted in the resignation of a top aide, sending his chaotic Downing Street operation into meltdown. And the distasteful words are now coming back to haunt him again as his own MPs repeat calls for an apology and Labour accuses him of inciting the mob that attacked Starmer. It is a nightmare start for new Downing Street spinner Guto Harri (more on that below) and a huge spanner in the works for Johnson’s broader attempts to hit the reset button in No 10. Elsewhere, the PM says he’s not worried about Rishi Sunak’s loyalty amid reports that the chancellor blocked plans to clear the NHS backlog and the UK is sending troops to Poland amid the threat of Russia invading Ukraine.

Inside the bubble

Chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for: