I’ve been out most of the day and have only just caught up with today’s PMQs when BoJo’s apparently ambivalent position on taking the knee came under scrutiny from the former DPP and now LAB leader, Starmer.

This is how the Indy’s John Rentoul describes it under the heading “Boris Johnson is on the wrong side of his own ‘culture war’ and he knows it – no wonder he was squirming”.

Johnson’s body language told the story, as Starmer recited all the foolish things that not just Patel but other Tory MPs had said about taking the knee. The prime minister kept his head down and muttered to himself like a sullen pupil. Starmer, lording it over the chamber, drew attention to his opponent’s discomfort. “He’s looked up,” Starmer commented at one point..Earlier, the Labour leader had picked up an unwise Tory heckle. Starmer quoted Tyrone Mings, the England player who had made the unanswerable point on Monday that the racist abuse his teammates had suffered showed that they were justified in taking the knee. “Labour member,” said a Tory MP, possibly from behind a mask. Starmer repeated it and threw it back. “Is that really the response? Is that it?”..Starmer won the day by declaring: “The government has tried to stoke a culture war and has now realised they’re on the wrong side.”

This comes at a good time for the LAB leader after a period when he has appeared to be in trouble.

You can see the whole of today’s PMQs here

Mike Smithson

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