James Cleverly Accused Of Calling English Town 'A S***hole' In Commons Outburst
James Cleverly has been accused of calling an English town “a shithole” during prime minister’s questions.
The home secretary allegedly made the remark following a question by Alex Cunningham, the Labour MP for Stockton North.
He had asked Rishi Sunak why 34% of children in his constituency were “living in poverty”.
A man’s voice can clearly be heard saying “it’s a shithole” before the PM delivers his answer.
Numerous Labour MPs later said they had seen Cleverly uttering the foul-mouthed phrase.
Lab MP @ACunninghamMP has attempted to raise a point of order after a Tory MP (believed to be foreign secretary James Cleverly) appears to have called Stockton North a “shit hole”
— Rachel Wearmouth (@REWearmouth) November 22, 2023
Cunningham had been asking about the area’s child poverty pic.twitter.com/eJTdVwjzHz
Raising a point of order in the chamber later, Cunningham said: “Before the prime minister answered, the home secretary chose to add in his penny-worth.
“He was seen and heard to say ‘because it’s a shithole’. I know he is denying being the culprit, but the audio is clear. It has been checked an checked and checked again.
“There is no doubt that these comments shame the home secretary, this rotten government and the Tory Party. He is clearly unfit for his high office.”
The MP said he wanted Cleverly to apologise in the Commons for his “appalling insult and foul language”.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “No Conservative MP made any negative remarks about Stockton.”
The row comes just days after Cleverly failed to deny calling the government’s Rwanda policy as “batshit” during a private conversation with a Labour MP when he was still foreign secretary.