Zarah Sultana and Lee Anderson would normally hold each other in the utmost of contempt, but on Monday the Commons watched as both of them were removed from the chamber for accusing the PM of lying. It's a rare occasion in itself for one MP to be ordered out, but one after the other in the same sitting is almost unheard of.
MPs were responding to a statement from Keir Starmer in relation to the Mandelson scandal, in which he pointed the finger of blame at the Foreign Office and continued to deny any wrongdoing. Reform's Lee Anderson told the PM that 'no-one believed him' and accused him of 'lying'. Starmer stood hesitantly, while looking towards the Speaker, but Lindsay Hoyle was slow to react. Eventually, Lindsay Hoyle interjected and told Anderson that 'we don't use those words' and asked him to withdraw his accusation. In true Anderson style, the Ashfield MP doubled down and refused, adding: "That man couldn't lie straight in bed".
The Speaker then ordered Anderson out of the chamber. Watch the exchange below.
A short while later the chamber was treated to the juvenile screeching of Your Party's Zarah Sultana. Sultana's prepared statement accused Starmer of 'gaslighting the nation', before she accused him of being a 'bare-faced liar'. She appeared to be about to demand his resignation when her microphone was cut and the Speaker interrupted. On this occasion Hoyle was clearly upset and immediately demanded her departure. With her microphone cut, her protestations about 'serving the interests of her constituents' was barely audible, but did nothing to placate Hoyle's ire.
Hoyle gave her multiple opportunities to comply, but like Anderson she doubled down and could be heard saying: "The Prime Minister is a liar". However, whereas Anderson duly left the chamber, Sultana's repeated refusal led to her being 'named' by the Speaker. This process means that Sultana is now suspended from the Commons for a period of several days (usually five), during which her salary is also put on hold.
As her statement appeared to be written in advance, this was probably a pre-conceived publicity stunt that Anderson had unwittingly usurped by being ejected first. Whether or not she had initially intended to push the Speaker so far is not clear, but with Anderson having left in such a dignified manner, she may have wished to up the ante for maximum attention.
Watch the exchange below.
It never ceases to amaze how such a setting - frequented by hundreds of professional liars - can have such a process in place that punishes those who accuse colleagues of lying!
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