U.K. politician chased by mob after prime minister falsely accuses him of shielding a celebrity pedophile
London — The leader of Britain's political opposition Labour Party was surrounded and chased by an angry mob on Monday after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson falsely accused him last month of shielding a notorious child sex abuser from prosecution. People in the group could be heard shouting "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile," at opposition leader Keir Starmer, BBC News reported.
In one unverified video posted online, a protester can be heard shouting "you dirty pedophile" at Starmer.
Jimmy Savile was a British TV host and DJ who was hugely popular in Britain for decades. After his death in 2012, a police investigation found that that had sexually abused multiple children and adults over his long period of stardom.
On the floor of the British Parliament last month, Johnson falsely accused Starmer of failing to prosecute Savile when Starmer previously served as director of public prosecutions. Starmer had no personal role in any decisions on whether to prosecute Savile, and Johnson has since admitted as much.
Police had to help Starmer escape from the crowd on Monday, and two people were arrested.
Johnson made the false allegations at the end of January, when he was under fire over reports about multiple parties held at his official residence, 10 Downing Street, during the height of the coronavirus lockdown in 2020. At the time, any gathering of multiple households indoors was against the rules, which were legally binding.
The "Partygate" scandal sparked national outrage as Britons learned that the people making the rules to control COVID-19 appeared to be holding parties, with booze and snacks, in the very seat of Britain's top executive power, while the rest of the country was unable to even visit dying relatives in hospitals or attend funerals.
Many — including members of Johnson's own party — demanded that he apologize to Starmer, but he has so far refused to do so.
Days after his comments in Parliament, Johnson said that Starmer "had nothing to do personally" with the decision not to prosecute Savile, but he added: "I was making a point about his responsibility for the organization as a whole."
His longtime head of policy resigned over the matter, saying Johnson had gone too far.
"This was not the normal cut-and-thrust of politics," Munira Murza said in her resignation letter. "It was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse… I appreciate that our political culture is not forgiving when people say sorry, but regardless, it is the right thing to do. It is not too late for you," she said, "but, I'm sorry to say, it is too late for me."
Johnson sought to distance himself from the crowd that targeted Starmer and praised police for intervening.
"The behavior directed at the Leader of the Opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful," Johnson tweeted Monday in response. "All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable."
