There’s a lot Boris Johnson will miss when he finally leaves Downing Street in September, but he’s unlikely to face the weekly music at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The PMQs experience was often harrowing for Johnson, who never wanted to be held to account, much less subjected to the forensic questioning of an opposition leader who had honed his interview techniques as a former head of the Crown Prosecution Service.
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Here are some of Johnson’s memorable PMQs moments.
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In his first PMQs, Johnson swore at Parliament, describing Labour’s economic plans as “m**t or bust”. During the session, he called Jeremy Corbyn a “chlorinated chicken”, gave a rousing speech and demanded an apology from Labor MP Tanmanjit Singh Desi for Johnson’s “racist” comments and had to be stopped from leaving too soon before his own spending review.
Caracas and chlorinated chicken: Johnson’s first PMQs clash with Corbyn – video highlights
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Johnson is making his way through his first PMQs after surviving a tough confidence vote in July when he was told he was “hated” by his own party, called a “lame duck” and likened to Monty Python’s Dark Knight, who claimed his fatal injuries were merely “flesh wounds” in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
MPs jeer as Johnson confronts Starmer for first time since no-confidence vote – video
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After the surprise resignations of cabinet ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid in June, Johnson endured the humiliation of being told 10 times in 30 minutes that he had to go. Labor leader Keir Starmer told him he was bleeding MPs so fast it was like “sinking ships running away from the rat”, but calls for his resignation have not only come from Labor MPs, with the most memorable line coming by Conservative David Davies, who called on Johnson to do “the honorable thing” before “it becomes impossible for the government to do its job properly”.
‘Pathetic spectacle’: Keir Starmer mocks Boris Johnson after resignations – video
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Boris Johnson was put in his place by the Speaker of the House of Commons in November 2021 when he was told to sit down. “You may be the Prime Minister of this country, but in this house I am in command!” said Sir Lindsay Hoyle. “I will not be challenged.” Johnson was trying to avoid answering questions about former Tory MP Owen Paterson, a paid lobbyist for a company that won government contracts worth almost £600m without competition.
‘Sit down!’: Speaker vents frustration with Boris Johnson at PMQs – video
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Johnson lost his temper four times at PMQs in April and said Starmer was out of his “little mind”. Johnson has been irritated by questions about the Partygate scandal and is said to have criticized the BBC for its coverage of the war in Ukraine. Johnson accused Starmer of being in a “Dr Who time warp” and described Labor as “intellectually bankrupt”, but not before one SNP MP was criticized for calling Johnson “Prime Minister Pinocchio”.
Boris Johnson tells Keir Starmer ‘you’ve gone mad’ during PMQs clash – video
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