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David Cameron at PMQs: SNP refuses to clap outgoing Prime Minister

SNP Commons' leader Angus Robertson says Mr Cameron's legacy of Brexit meant they could not applaud him as he stands down

Ian Johnston
Wednesday 13 July 2016 11:59 BST
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David Cameron at PMQs: SNP refuses to clap outgoing Prime Minister

The SNP refused to applaud David Cameron as he appeared at his last Prime Minister's Questions with Commons leader Angus Robertson saying his abiding legacy would be Brexit.

There were warm words for Mr Cameron from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and many other MPs.

And, initially, Mr Robertson said that he wished Mr Cameron and his family well.

"However the Prime Minister's legacy will undoubtedly be that he's taken us to the brink of being taken out of the EU, so we will not be applauding his premiership on these benches," Mr Robertson said.

Mr Cameron said Theresa May, his successor, was a "brilliant negotiator" and trusted her to secure a good deal for the UK, including Scotland.

"We should try to be as close to the European Union as we can be," he said.

"The Channel will not get any wider once we leave the EU."

At the end of PMQs, MPs rose to give Mr Cameron a standing ovation, but a number in the area of the Commons where the SNP sits remained seated and did not clap.

Mr Cameron’s last session was largely non-adversarial, with questions on a range of topics alongside some tributes and jokes.

Incoming leader Ms May was cheered as she entered the House – shortly before her visit to the Queen to ask for permission to form a new government.

Mr Cameron said that his schedule for the afternoon “will be light” once he’s stepped down following his own meeting with the Queen.

Samantha Cameron and the couple’s children attended Mr Cameron’s final PMQs, sitting at the front row of the public gallery.

When Tony Blair was applauded at the end of his last prime minister’s questions, it was the first time in living memory that clapping had taken place in the Commons. Parliamentary protocol usually bans applause.

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