But I do want to, in fairness to the temporary Speaker, Judith Cummins, who was there, she did the right thing, she followed the rules because Parliament doesn\u2019t allow you to call other parliamentarians liars in the chamber, so I don\u2019t criticise the Speaker \u2026 the Deputy Speaker for what she did, she was following the rules. But do I support Dawn in what she said? I absolutely do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“It is dangerous to lie in a pandemic”<\/h5>\n
Butler had said: \u201cPoor people in our country have paid with their lives because the Prime Minister has spent the last 18 months misleading this House and the country over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
She highlighted disputed claims made by the Prime Minister, including that the link between Covid-19 infection and serious disease and death had been severed.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous to lie in a pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am disappointed the Prime Minister has not come to the House to correct the record and correct the fact that he has lied to the House and the country over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked on Monday whether he supports Butler, Starmer said he \u201cabsolutely\u201d does.<\/p>\n
He told LBC: \u201cI agree with what Dawn had to say. I think the Prime Minister is the master of untruths and half-truths, and Dawn was simply giving some examples of that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of people that feel that, you know, it\u2019s the person who\u2019s not telling the truth rather than the person who\u2019s calling it out that ought to be on the hotspot. So, I agree with Dawn on that.<\/p>\n After Butler made her comments on Thursday,\u00a0 Cummins intervened and said: \u201cOrder! Order! I\u2019m sure that the Member will reflect on her words she\u2019s saying and perhaps correct the record.\u201d<\/p>\n Butler replied: \u201cWhat would you rather \u2013 a weakened leg or a severed leg?<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day the Prime Minister has lied to this House time and time again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny that we get in trouble in this place for calling out the lie rather than the person lying.\u201d<\/p>\n Cummins intervened again and urged Ms Butler to \u201creflect\u201d on her words and withdraw them.<\/p>\n Butler replied: \u201cI\u2019ve reflected on my words and somebody needs to tell the truth in this House \u2013 that the Prime Minister has lied.\u201d<\/p>\n Cummins then read out a statement in which she ordered Ms Butler to \u201cwithdraw immediately from the House for the remainder of the day\u2019s sitting\u201d.<\/p>\n Ms Butler left her seat and exited the chamber.<\/p>\n By The Canary<\/a><\/p>\n\n This post was originally published on The Canary<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dawn Butler was told to leave the Commons on Thursday after refusing to withdraw the remarks.<\/p>\n![\"Dawn](\"https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/c4737783b8f89987c406649ffd357832Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjI3Mzc4NTA3\/2.61084101.jpg?w=640\")