WATCH: John Bercow says MPs are 'not traitors' after Theresa May sparks Brexit delay row
3 min read
John Bercow today leapt to the defence of MPs as Theresa May faced a backlash after blaming them for the expected Brexit delay.
The Prime Minister was roundly criticised last night when she used a speech in Downing Street to accuse Parliament of doing "everything possible to avoid making a choice" on the UK's departure from the EU.
Directly addressing the public, she declared: "You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side."
Earlier in the day she said MPs had "indulged themselves on Europe for too long" as she pleaded for members to get behind her withdrawal agreement.
But Speaker John Bercow intervened in the Commons this morning to declare that all members are “doing their best” and that the duty of MPs is to “do what he or she thinks is right”.
The intervention followed a question from Labour’s Diana Johnson to leader of the House Andrea Leadom, in which she accused the Prime Minister of having “pitched” MPs against the public.
The Hull North MP cited a Facebook post calling her a “traitor” and saying her and two colleagues from neighbouring constituencies should be “shot and hanged”.
Mr Bercow responded: “None of you is a traitor, all of you are doing your best… the sole duty of every Member of Parliament is to do what he or she thinks is right."
“This should not be and I’m sure will not prove to be a matter of any controversy whatsoever. From the chair, let me say that I believe passionately in the institution of parliament in the rights of members of this House and in their commitment to their duty and I use the word duty in the singular advisedly.
“The sole duty of every Member of Parliament is to do what he or she thinks is right. There is nothing in my judgement to be added."
Watch the Speaker's comments below:
Elsewhere, former Tory minister Dominic Grieve told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that he had received a death threat only yesterday, as he too criticised the PM.
“I do get death threats,” he said. “One came in yesterday. [Mrs May] knows this, and earlier at Prime Minister’s Questions, she condemned the atmosphere of violence that seems to be creeping into some peoples discourse,
“And yet ultimately she used extremely aggressive language and as I say, she’s just wrong.”
The ex-Attorney General’s latest criticism came after he said Mrs May’s comments at the despatch box had left him “ashamed” of being a member of the Tory party.
A Downing Street spokesperson denied Mrs May’s comments were putting MPs at risk, however, adding: “I reject the suggestion there’s any connection or any link to that. The PM was setting out to the public the details of the extension and her own personal regrets on that front.”
They added that the PM "flatly rejects" any suggestion of a link between her words and threats aimed at MPs.
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