Starmer and Sunak slam each other's characterpublished at 12:30 British Summer Time 13 September 2023

12:30 BST 13 September 2023

Chris Mason
Political editor

The exchanges between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer felt rather scattergun today - from the escaped terror suspect to China, to small boats crossing the Channel.

But what united the exchanges was attempts by both men to traduce each other’s character and judgement.

Keir Starmer branded Sunak ‘inaction man'; Sunak claimed Starmer was "principle free, conviction free".

The SNP leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, returns to a familiar theme for him - pointing out what he claims are the similarities between the Conservatives and Labour. His case study this week: both main parties at Westminster not committing to renewing what is called the 'triple lock' on the state pension.

Following up, Flynn says there is now a "consensus" between the Tories and Labour over the future of the triple lock, accusing both parties of putting it at risk.

He asks whether Sunak's government or a future Labour government will scrap it first.

In reply, Sunak repeats that the government remains "committed" to the triple lock promise.

He says pensioners have seen "record increases" in state pensions under the Conservatives, and highlights additional support provided more recently to help with rising living costs.

Image source, House of Commons

SNP leader Stephen Flynn says the PM spends more money on heating his pool than the state pension, and therefore might not be invested in his question.

He asks if Sunak will commit his party to maintaining the state pension triple lock beyond the next general election.

Sunak replies that it was his party that introduced the triple lock and delivered a £3,000 increase in state pensions since 2010.

Our track record is clear, he says, adding that the Conservatives have always stood up for pensioners.

Sunak finishes by defending his government, which he says in the past week has announced a landmark deal for British scientists and attracted £500m for the auto industry.

He accuses Starmer of being "locked away with Labour's union paymasters" while the Conservatives are working for the "hardworking British public".

Every week the PM comes here saying nothing is his fault, Starmer says - the PM is trying to convince anyone who is still listening that everything is great.

The truth is the floor fell in for millions of families because of the "economic mayhem" the Conservatives created, Starmer says. "The classroom ceilings collapsed because he cut vital school budgets," he adds.

And now the walls of our national security have been breached because they ignored repeated warnings, Starmer says.

"No-one voted for this shambles. No-one voted for him."

When will he give the British public a say? Starmer asks.

In response, Sunak doesn't respond to Starmer's "inaction man" jibe.

Instead, he criticises Labour over its decision to vote against the government's plans to scrap water pollution rules, calling it a "cheap political hit".

Adding that the government's plans would deliver jobs, he has his own dig at the Labour leader, saying he had moved from a "builder to a blocker" and accusing him of lacking convictions.

Image source, House of Commons

Starmer labels Sunak "inaction man" who fails to heed warnings and blames others for the consequences.

He notes that in the past year 40,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats. He says the PM has failed to stop terrorists strolling out of prison, failed to protect Britain against hostile states and failed to stop the boats.

How can anyone trust him to run the country? he asks.

Sunak answers by saying it is Starmer who is playing catch up.

The PM says the government has launched a refresh of its Chinese strategy with new measures, and is alert to the risk of cyber attacks and China.

He attacks Starmer over his foreign policy, saying he was "100%" behind former labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who wanted to "abolish the army" and leave Nato - adding Starmer put his own political future ahead of Britain's.

Starmer says the government has no clear strategy when it comes to China, leaving the UK "handicapped" when it comes to our future security.

He again accused the PM of failing to heed warning and is "desperately playing catch up".

"Will he finally commit to a full audit of UK-China relations?" Starmer asks.

Image source, House of Commons

Sunak says the foreign secretary "raised these issues" with his Chinese counterpart during his August visit to the country. He says he did the same himself with China at the G20 summit at the weekend.

He defends the government's stance on China, calling it the "most robust policy" the UK has ever had, adding that it aligns with the position adopted by British allies internationally.

Starmer says Sunak is painting a rosy image of the country which is at odds with people's lived experience.

He says some MPs have faced sanctions and threats from the Chinese state, and asks if the foreign secretary raised the case of the parliamentary researcher when he visited China?

Sunak responds by saying that Starmer "should know better" than expect everyone in jail to be held in category A prisons.

The Conservative government, he says, has provided 4,000 new prison officers. He says staffing at Wandsworth prison is up by 25% in the past six years, and the government is spending £100 million to improve prison security.

Image source, House of Commons

Following up, Starmer says the Tories are presiding over mayhem in the criminal justice system,

"It beggars belief we are here again," he says, referring to probation failures that led to the death of Zara Aleena.

The chief inspector of prisons said conditions in Wandsworth were so bad it should be shut down, Starmer says.

"Probation, schools, now prisons - why does the prime minister keep ignoring the warnings until it's too late?"

In reply, Sunak says he cannot comment as a legal process is under way.

But he says the government has commissioned investigations to make sure lessons are learned from the case so "that it never happens again". He adds prisons escapes are rare.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer begins by paying tribute to police who tracked down the escaped prisoner from Wandsworth prison.

He asks why Daniel Khalife was not held in a category A prison.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak starts by paying tribute to the Clerk of the House John Benger, who will depart the role at the end of this month.

Rishi Sunak is on his feet at the dispatch box as this week’s PMQs begins.

The PM will take questions from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer before hearing from other MPs.

We’ll bring you all the latest lines - and you can watch along by tapping 'play' at the top of the page.

Here is the list of MPs who are down to ask a question today after Sunak answers Starmer and the SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn. In addition to these MPs, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will also pick others to ask questions during the session:

• Chris Law (Dundee West) - SNP
• Nicola Richards (West Bromwich East) - Conservative
• Ashley Dalton (West Lancashire) - Labour
• Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) - Conservative
• Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) – Conservative
• Chris Green (Bolton West) - Conservative
• Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) - Conservative
• Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire)- Conservative
• Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) - Conservative
• Daisy Cooper (St Albans) - Liberal Democrat
• Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) - Conservative
• Kevin Foster (Torbay) - Conservative
• Philip Davies (Shipley) - Conservative
• Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw) - Conservative
• Richard Graham (Gloucester) – Conservative

Image source, Katiko

Today’s head-to-head between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer comes amid spying allegations centred on the House of Commons.

As we've been telling you, it emerged that a parliamentary researcher was arrested amid accusations he spied for China – the man in question strongly denies the allegations.

Yesterday, The Times reported, external that the British intelligence had warned the Conservative Party in 2021 and 2022 that two of its potential parliamentary candidates could be spies for the Chinese state.

Will these reports take centre stage in the Commons today?

Image source, Getty Images

Another issue that could come up in the next hour is the government's plan to scrap water pollution rules in order to encourage housebuilding.

Known as the 'nutrient neutrality' rules, the House of Lords is set to vote on removing the EU-era decrees later today. If successfully scrapped, developers will no longer need to prove their projects are "nutrient neutral" in protected areas.

The Tories claim that scrapping the law will allow developers to building new homes more quickly.

The proposal, however, has been condemned by environmental groups, who say scrapping the rules could lead to a rise in water pollution.

Labour is planning to vote against the plans and deputy leader Angela Rayner has said her party will table its own proposals through an amendment to the Levelling Up Bill.

Read more here.