Boris Johnson responded to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for his criticism of sending illegal migrants to Rwanda, arguing that senior clerics should condemn Vladimir Putin instead.
In an optimistic speech to Tory MPs after his apology in the municipalities, the prime minister said that while the bishops attacked the agreement with Rwanda in their Easter sermons, they were silent about Putin.
Mr Johnson also referred to Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of “roughening up the political debate” with his personal attacks on him in the Municipalities, after a Tory MP said that the Labor leader had “inflated hysteria”.
The prime minister’s response – in a closed-door meeting – was in stark contrast to his more remorseful tone in the municipal hall and was delivered in his characteristic knockout style.
Image: Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologizes “wholeheartedly” for the party scandal earlier today
The Prime Minister greeted the meeting on Tori’s bench by knocking on desks
During the meeting, a Tory MP said the party was a “wet blanket” and other MPs said it was not raised by voters during the May 5th local election campaign.
Asked by Sky News as he arrived for the meeting, surrounded by cabinet ministers and Downing Street staff: “How are you, Prime Minister?” Mr. Johnson replied, “Very well, thank you.”
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He was then greeted by the ritual bumping of desks – which lasted 30 seconds – when he entered the room and immediately called for party unity and support as he fought his critics.
According to a senior government source, Mr Johnson accused the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, of “misinterpreting” the policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sources close to the prime minister said he accused the archbishop of being “less noisy” in condemning President Putin than in his attack on politics.
In his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Mr Welby raised “serious ethical issues” about politics and said it could not “stand up to God’s judgment”.
In the sermon, the archbishop said that “giving our responsibilities to subcontractors, even to a country that strives to do well, such as Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God, who himself took responsibility for our failures.”
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1:39 The Archbishop of Canterbury said the plans were ungodly
In a call for his MEPs to stick to it, Mr Johnson began his speech by telling them: “The public in the UK hates politicians talking about themselves. They want them to talk about their problems. “
Praising his cabinet colleagues, he said his struggling Chancellor Rishi Sunak was “doing an outstanding job” and asked, “Who do you prefer to run the economy, Rishi or Rachel Reeves?”
And attacking Labor, Mr Johnson said many of the current shadow cabinet supported Jeremy Corbyn as leader, adding: “Where will he be in Ukraine?”
One attendee said about 20 lawmakers asked questions during the meeting, of which only two were “skeptical” and both were notorious critics of the prime minister.
A source close to the prime minister claims that a Tory MP Jason McCartney mentioned the murder of Joe Cox in June 2016 while he was attacking the Labor leader.
The source said: “He said Starmer incited hysteria – to remind everyone that two MPs were killed – there is potential for internal hatred.
“You saw a lot of that on the opposition benches today.
“The prime minister was more restrained in his response, but said there was a roughening of the debate, which is of no use to our policy.”
Another Tory MP, Craig Whitaker, was amused when he said partygate was “an incredibly wet blanket suffocating all good news”.
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