London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

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
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×