Sir Keir Starmer calls Boris Johnson coward in furious Commons row

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of being a "coward" in his handling of the row over MPs' second jobs, during a heated row in the House of Commons.

The prime minister retaliated by accusing Sir Keir of giving "lawyerly" answers rather than explaining the details of his own extra paid work.

Sir Keir later withdrew his remark, but said the PM was "no leader."

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called several times for better behaviour.

He described the atmosphere at Prime Ministers Questions as "ill-tempered".

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The row between Mr Johnson and Sir Keir came during a series of exchanges over the issue of MPs' second jobs, which has dogged Westminster for several weeks.

On Tuesday, both Labour and the Conservatives revealed their own set of proposed reforms, following Tory MP Owen Paterson breaking the rules on paid lobbying on behalf of two companies.

Sir Keir, whose party wants a ban on almost all second jobs, said: "When somebody in my party misbehaves, I kick them out. When somebody in his party misbehaves, he tries to get them off the hook. I lead, he covers up."

Sir Keir criticised the government's handling of the row over Mr Paterson, including its decision to back a change in the rules which delayed the MP's suspension from the Commons - which was followed by a U-turn and Mr Paterson's resignation.

"Everybody else has apologised for him, but he won't apologise for himself," Sir Keir said. "A coward not a leader. Weeks defending corruption."

But the prime minister responded that Sir Keir needed to give more details of his own work as a barrister for the firm Mishcon de Reya since becoming an MP in 2015, saying that in a "lawyerly way" he was "trying to preach to others for exactly the sorts of actions that he took himself".

"It's plain from listening to (Sir Keir) that he seeks to criticise this government while refusing to explain his own position.... but his own Mish-conduct is absolutely clear to everybody," Mr Johnson said.

"Meanwhile, we will get on on a cross-party basis with taking forward the business I have outlined and we will get on with the business of this government."

Amid raucous scenes in the chamber, Sir Lindsay told Mr Johnson not to ask questions of the Labour leader, as this was not the point if Prime Minister's Questions.

At one stage he ordered: "Prime Minister, sit down. I'm not going to be challenged. You may be the prime minister of this country, but in this House I'm in charge."

Sir Lindsay later said: "I don't think this has done this House any good today. I'll be quite honest, I think it's been ill-tempered."

SNP leader Ian Blackford pointed at some empty seats on the benches behind the prime minister, joking: "It used to always be said that the Tory MPs were behind the prime minister but, my goodness, look at the gaps. The rebellion has clearly started."

After Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative MP Michael Fabricant raised a point of order, arguing that Sir Keir's used of the word "coward" amounted to unparliamentary language.

The Labour leader responded: "I withdraw the remark, but [the prime ministers is] no leader."

Some of the tension around Westminster over allegations of sleaze and conflicts of interest exploded during that session of PMQs.

You got a sense of the frustration from the Speaker as he repeatedly intervened - and stopped the prime minister trying to respond to Keir Starmer's questions with questions of his own.

You got a sense of the Labour strategy: accusing the prime minister of failing to lead on this and even using the normally banned word "coward".

And then you got a sense of Boris Johnson's plan: admit a mistake was made over the handling of Owen Paterson, but try and deflect some of the allegations onto Labour's leader.

But it's worth noting the Conservative side wasn't as packed as normal - nor was it as loud.

That's a sign of some of the unease in the Conservative party about the government's handling of the past fortnight - and some nervousness about what a crackdown on second jobs might mean.