The Isle of Wight's MP says it is "not completely unfair and unreasonable" that Sir Keir Starmer is held responsible after Boris Johnson accused him of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, although he admits "aggressive and criminal behaviour" towards politicians should not be tolerated.
Bob Seely says he is more focussed on issues on the Island, "not what a few idiots get up to in Westminster".
Pressure is growing on the Prime Minister to apologise to the Labour leader after he was confronted by angry protestors outside Parliament yesterday.
Many believe Boris Johnson is partly to blame for the confrontation, following his suggestion that Sir Keir failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile in his previous job with the Crown Prosecution Service.
This claim has been discredited on a number of occasions. In 2020, Full Fact ruled Sir Keir was head of the CPS when the decision was made not to prosecute Savile but he was not the reviewing lawyer for the case.
At least six Conservative MPs, including Julian Smith, Tobias Ellwood and Stephen Hammond, have joined calls for the PM to apologise and retract his "baseless" statement. Mr Ellwood suggested he was responsible for engaging in "Trumpian politics", drawing comparisons with riots at the US Capitol in Washington last year.
When asked by Isle of Wight Radio whether he would be asking the PM to retract his statement, Mr Seely said:
"The Leader of the Opposition took credit for the achievements of Crown Prosecution Service, so it is not completely unfair and unreasonable that he be held responsible for its corporate failings, especially since he has already apologised for that failing.
"However, politics should always be conducted in a decent environment and abusive, aggressive or criminal behaviour should not be tolerated."
He added:
"We got the Island’s Forum in the Levelling Up bid, the Island’s schools are in the Education Investment Area, we’re campaigning for a Road Policing Unit to save lives on the IW, we got the IW Levelling Up bid over the line.
"These are the things that matter to Islanders, not what a few idiots get up to in Westminster. My time is focused on delivering for the Island."
Boris Johnson described the violence directed towards Sir Keir as "disgraceful". He stopped short of saying he will withdraw his comments.
The behaviour directed at the Leader of the Opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful. All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 7, 2022
I thank the police for responding swiftly.
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