LABOUR leader Keir Starmer has said he supported Dawn Butler in “what she said” when the MP described the Prime Minister as a serial liar in the Commons – but insisted the temporary deputy speaker “did the right thing” in removing her from the Chamber.

Starmer was asked about last week’s incident, which saw Judith Cummins remove Butler from the House of Commons after refusing to withdraw her comments about Boris Johnson.

Butler received widespread praise after defiantly repeating that the Tory leader has lied multiple times to both the public and the House.

Discussing a viral video by filmmaker Peter Stefanovic, which lists many false statements made by Johnson, Butler told MPs: “He highlights the Prime Minister said the economy is growing by 73%, it’s just not true. Reinstating the nurses’ bursary, just not true. There wasn’t an app working anywhere in the world? Just wasn’t true. Tories invested £34 billion in the NHS? Not true.

"The Prime Minister said we have severed the link between infection and serious disease and death. Not only is this not true, madame deputy speaker, but it is dangerous. And it is dangerous to lie in a pandemic.

"And I am disappointed that the Prime Minister has not come to the House to correct the record and correct the fact that he has lied to this House and lied to the country over and over again."

READ MORE: Labour MP ordered to leave the Commons after saying Boris Johnson lies

Asked to correct the record by Cummins, Butler repeated: “At the end of the day the prime Minister has lied to this House time and time again. It’s funny that we get in trouble in this place for calling out the lie rather than the person lying.”

Cummins again attempted to get Butler to reflect on her comments, and when she failed instructed the MP to leave for the remainder of the day’s sitting.

Discussing the incident on LBC, Starmer defended both parties. “I agree with what Dawn had to say. I think the Prime Minister is the master of untruths and half-truths, and Dawn was simply giving some examples of that,” he told listeners.

“I think there’s a lot of people that feel that, you know, it’s the person who’s not telling the truth rather than the person who’s calling it out that ought to be on the hotspot. So, I agree with Dawn on that.

“But I do want to, in fairness to the temporary speaker, Judith Cummins, who was there, she did the right thing, she followed the rules because Parliament doesn’t allow you to call other parliamentarians liars in the chamber, so I don’t criticise the speaker … the deputy speaker for what she did, she was following the rules. But do I support Dawn in what she said? I absolutely do.”