London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Boris Johnson’s most memorable PMQs – from Partygate to Pinocchio

Boris Johnson’s most memorable PMQs – from Partygate to Pinocchio

Outgoing PM never relished being held to account at the dispatch box, as his frequent outbursts have shown

There is much that Boris Johnson will miss when he finally leaves Downing Street in September but having to face the weekly music at prime minister’s questions is unlikely to be on the list.

The PMQs experience has frequently been a bruising one for Johnson, who has never been keen on being held to account and much less subjected to the forensic questioning of an opposition leader who honed his interview techniques as former head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Here are some of Johnson’s memorable moments at PMQs.

*  In his first PMQs, Johnson swore in parliament, describing Labour’s economic plans as “s**t or bust”. During a session, he called Jeremy Corbyn a “chlorinated chicken”, faced down a rousing speech and demands for an apology from Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi about Johnson’s “racist” comments and had to be stopped from leaving too early ahead of his own spending review.




Johnson grimaced his way through his first PMQs after he survived a bruising confidence vote in July as he was told he was “loathed” by his own party, called a “lame duck” and likened to Monty Python’s black knight who claimed his mortal injuries were just “flesh wounds” in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.




*  After the surprise resignations of cabinet ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid in June, Johnson bore the humiliation of being told 10 times in 30 minutes that he had to go. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, told him he was haemorrhaging MPs so fast that it was like “sinking ships fleeing the rat” but the calls for his resignation didn’t come only from Labour MPs, with the most memorable line coming from the Conservative David Davis, who called for Johnson to do the “honourable thing” before it “becomes impossible for the government to do its proper job”.




Boris Johnson was put in his place by the Commons’ Speaker in November 2021 when he was told to sit down. “You may be the prime minister of this country but in this house, I’m in charge!” said Sir Lindsay Hoyle. “I’m not going to be challenged.” Johnson was attempting to avoid answering questions over former Tory MP Owen Paterson, a paid lobbyist for a company that won government contracts worth almost £600m without competition.




Johnson lost his temper four times in PMQs in April and said Starmer was out of his “tiny mind”. Johnson was rattled over questions about the Partygate scandal and claims he criticised the BBC over its coverage of the war in Ukraine. Johnson accused Starmer of being in a “Dr Who timewarp” and described Labour as being “intellectually bankrupt” but not before one SNP MP was told off for calling Johnson a “Pinocchio prime minister”.



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×