Rishi Sunak has faced a grilling at Prime Minister's Questions after senior Tory Simon Clarke called for the PM to be replaced
Starmer quipped that the more Tory MPs "slag off" Sunak behind his back, the "more they cheer in here"
The PM said the Labour leader doesn't get British values, saying he previously "wanted to abolish the monarchy"
The Labour leader said Sunak "doesn't understand Britain" with "his own MPs seeing him as an obstacle to recovery"
The pair attacked each other personally, in a possible foretaste of the battle we'll see this election year
Clarke, a former cabinet minister, said the party faced being "massacred" at the next election under Sunak
But Senior Tories have rallied around the PM and warned against another round of infighting after Clarke's intervention
And we're off.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer begins by reiterating Sunak's comment about the King and Princess Kate following news of their respective medical procedures. He also offers similar comments on Holocaust memorial day.
Addressing Sunak, he says the PM has had "quite a week", adding that the more Tory MPs "slag off" Sunak behind his back, the "more they cheer in here".
Rishi Sunak begins by sending his best wishes to his Majesty the King and the Princess of Wales.
He then says he will meet his afternoon with 100-year-old Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert, before Holocaust memorial day on Saturday.
He reaffirms a promise to Lily that "we will never forget the holocaust and we will carry forward her life's work for generations".
SNP MP Richard Thomson then asks about the possibility that Royal Mail might cut the number of days it provides its services to Scotland.
Sunak replies: "We remain absolutely committed to ensuring it remains absolutely as it is."
PM 'absolutely committed' to Royal Mail service obligations
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
There was a conspicuously huge cheer from the Conservative benches for Rishi Sunak as he arrived for prime minister’s questions.
That is Tory MPs’ way of making clear that they are rallying behind him.
And Sir Keir Starmer was clearly prepared for that, quipping about “this new tradition where the more they slag him off behind his back, the louder they cheer”.
There’s no sign of Sir Simon Clarke in the chamber.
There were cheers as both PM Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer entered the chamber.
The PM is now at the dispatch box.
We're poised to bring you all the latest from PMQs when it starts in the next few minutes.
You can watch live at the top of this page.
Press the large Play button for BBC News coverage (UK only), or choose BBC Parliament from 12:00 GMT.
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
As Conservative MPs arrive at Westminster for prime minister’s questions, the general mood appears to be one of surprise, even bafflement, at Sir Simon Clarke’s intervention.
There have been plenty of leadership crises in the Conservative Party over the past few years, and this does not feel like one.
Indeed, it’s likely that Conservative MPs will be extra-loyal and extra-loud in their backing of Rishi Sunak at PMQs today, as a way of demonstrating their support.
But even among those Conservatives proclaiming their frustration with Clarke this morning, there is serious concern about their party’s standing in the opinion polls.
Remember that for all but those MPs in the very safest seats, bad polls are not abstract: they mean many Conservatives losing their jobs.
So even if Clarke’s leadership rebellion appears to be fizzling for now, it’s worth watching for Conservatives putting pressure on Sunak to find a way to turn things around.
Government minister Kevin Hollinrake told BBC Radio 4 this morning: "The economy is growing - it's grown this year - didn't go into recession."
We do not yet know whether the economy is growing this year as we won't get the first figures for 2024 until 13 March - but growth in 2023 was pretty anaemic.
In the first three months of 2023 the economy as measured by GDP grew by 0.3%. There was zero growth in the next three months and then it shrank 0.1% between July and September.
Figures for the last three months of the year will be released on 15 February and some economists are predicting it will be negative, which would mean that the country had gone into recession.
Image source, ReutersThere are just 15 minutes left now before PMQs gets underway.
Rishi Sunak just left No 10 Downing Street and is now on his way to face MPs in the Commons. Stay tuned.
Lee Anderson, who until last week was deputy chair of the Tory Party, has told The Telegraph, external there is "no chance" of Sunak being deposed before the next election.
He also urges colleagues trying to remove the prime minister to "stop being silly" and that "our only chance to win the next election is by keeping Rishi in No 10".
He quit his party role last week in order to vote against the government on an amendment to the Rwanda Bill, although he eventually abstained when it came to voting on the legislation as a whole.
He now says he should have voted for the bill as "there was nothing else, there was no Plan B".
Chris Mason
Political editor
Privately Conservative MPs fear they are going to lose, and perhaps lose big time.
Most, for now at least, have decided the only thing that can do is plod on - attempt to demonstrate steady competence, point to a steadily improving economy and progress on illegal immigration, for instance.
Others, a clump of the not just doom-laden but downright disaffected, are so convinced of the party's imminent possible oblivion that they feel compelled to act now.
Simon Clarke is one of them, but he's not alone.
Image source, EPAHome Secretary James Cleverly says it would be "foolish" to have further dissent within the party, adding that it would work to Labour's advantage.
"I know Simon very well, I like him and respect him. I could not disagree with him more on this particular issue," Cleverly tells reporters, referencing Sir Simon's calls for Sunak to be replaced.
"If we were to do something as foolish as have an internal argument at this stage, all it would do is open the door for Keir Starmer, and Keir Starmer has no plan, would undo all the good work, take us right back to square one."
Reacting to the intervention by Simon Clarke, Labour's Pat McFadden says the Conservatives have formed a "circular firing squad".
"There are many good reasons for getting rid of this clapped-out Conservative government, and liberating the British people from endless bouts of Tory infighting is certainly one of them," McFadden says.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the Tory infighting was "utterly ludicrous" and that voters are "sick and tired of this never-ending Conservative Party soap opera".
Image source, UK PARLIAMENTRishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill cleared the House of Commons last week but some Tory MPs have spoken of a sense of "panic" within the party.
Last week the Telegraph wiped out its front page for a 14,000-person general election poll by YouGov, external. Using its MRP model to project results in each constituency, the pollster found that Labour are on course for a 120-seat majority.
But many Tory MPs thought the poll was not revelatory. "It's not really any different to the other polls. I'm no more worried than I have been," one minister who would lose their seat under the model said.
"Some people are already starting to panic. It's not just the usual suspects, there's quite a lot of people now," one Tory MP said.
"It's easy to dismiss one MRP poll but when it's on the back of lots of other polls people find batting that away quite hard. The accumulation of despondency may become too much".
There was a moment of cross-party unity yesterday, on action against the Houthis in Yemen, who have been targeting Red Sea ships.
The UK took part in a second wave of joint US-UK action on Monday night, following previous raids on 11 January.
Addressing the House of Commons yesterday, Sunak said: "We are not seeking a confrontation. We urge the Houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks.
"But, if necessary, the United Kingdom will not hesitate to respond again in self-defence."
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he backed the "targeted action" and that attacks on vessels needed to stop.
The issue could come up during PMQs this afternoon, and there will also be a Commons debate on the military action against the Houthis later.
Sunak: Last night's Rwanda win shows Tories 'completely united'
As a reminder, it was nearly a week ago that Rishi Sunak called a press conference after his Rwanda bill passed the Commons.
He said the vote showed the Conservatives were completely united.
As well as two public calls for his resignation, the prime minister has also recently faced a week of open rebellion against his flagship Rwanda bill.
Last week, 61 Conservative MPs backed an amendment to the bill as it went through Parliament - the biggest rebellion of Sunak's premiership.
The bill seeks to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to the east African country in order to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats.
In the end only 11 Conservative MPs - including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick - voted against the bill and the legislation was passed by 320 to 276 votes in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The House of Lords has since called for the new UK-Rwanda treaty to be delayed until Kigali improves its asylum procedures, in a non-binding motion backed by 214 votes to 171.
Image source, ReutersFormer defence secretary Ben Wallace rejects the idea of ousting Sunak, saying "division and another PM would lead to the certain loss of power".
"My colleague Sir Simon Clarke MP is wrong," Wallace says.
"The way to win the next election is to tackle inflation and grow the economy. Rishi is doing just that.
"We need to focus on delivering for the public not divisive rowing."
Several ex-Tory cabinet ministers have rallied in support of the PM this morning by criticising an article by former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke calling for Sunak to be replaced as PM.
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel accused her colleague of "engaging in facile and divisive self-indulgence".
David Davis, a former Brexit secretary, said: "The party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their own leadership ambitions ahead of the UK's best interests."
Writing on X, Sir Simon denied he was "positioning myself or on behalf of another".
"I am speaking out because the stakes for our country and my party are too high to stay silent."
Chris Mason
Political editor
Not even a week on from the last blast of noisy public rowing in the Conservative Party - here they go again.
Sir Simon Clarke, a former cabinet minister, has become the second Tory MP to publicly call for Rishi Sunak to go. Dame Andrea Jenkyns was the first, late last year.
If I had drawn up a list a week ago of those most likely to publicly call for the prime minister to pack it in, Sir Simon would have been pretty near, if not at the top.
He has been publicly critical for some time. He was one of the 11 rebels in the crunch Rwanda vote last week. He backed Sunak's leadership rival Liz Truss early on and served in her cabinet.
Nonetheless, it is still quite a moment when an MP goes public like this - and is critical in the strongest possible terms.
It is quite a moment because they know what their remarks will provoke - another almighty row.
Image source, PA MediaThere’s been lots of talk about the headline in this morning’s Telegraph from an article written by former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke.
Tory minister Kevin Hollinrake disagrees with Simon Clarke's assessment in the this morning's Telegraph that the Tories must "oust Sunak or face election massacre".
“There’ll be no new leadership election. The parliamentary party is overwhelmingly in support of the prime minister,” the postal affairs minister tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
"He’s a good guy Simon but he’s completely wrong on this.”
Hollinrake says Sunak has delivered on issues like the Covid, the cost of living crisis and troubles in the Red Sea.