Starmer faces demands to APOLOGISE to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle over 'shameful' PMQs rant after being rebuked for deflecting questions

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 11:51, 16 April 2026 | Updated: 11:56, 16 April 2026 Keir Starmer is facing demands to apologise to the Commons Speaker over his extraordinary PMQs temper tantrum. The premier confronted Lindsay Hoyle in the chamber after being reminded during yesterday's session that he was the one facing questions - not the Leader of the Opposition. Sir Keir strode up to Sir Lindsay following the clashes, with witnesses saying he was 'fuming' and even struck the side of the Speaker's chair.  However, Sir Lindsay has repeatedly given the same warning to PMs including Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak - to Sir Keir's benefit when he was Opposition leader.  Allies of the Speaker have pointed out that he regularly gets emails from members of the public complaining that the premier constantly dodges questions at PMQs. Shadow Commons Leader Jesse Norman raised the episode at Business Questions in the House this morning. Sir Keir Starmer in furious bust-up with the Commons Speaker after he's ordered to finally start answering Kemi Badenoch's questions Mr Speaker Lindsay Hoyle interrupted the PM to remind him that it was questions to the Prime Minister - rather than the leader of the opposition  Shadow Commons Leader Jesse Norman raised the episode at Business Questions in the House this morning As Sir Lindsay watched stony-faced, Mr Norman said of 24 responses given by the PM to Kemi Badenoch in recent weeks, 23 had 'ignored the question and changed the subject'. 'Yesterday we even saw the PM hectoring you and on live television just for doing your job,' he said. 'That is a shameful record, for which the he PM should write to you and therefore by implication to this House and apologise.' Mr Norman sad the behaviour 'is contemptuous of you, of the the Leader of the Opposition, and of us all as MPs'. Sir Lindsay interrupted the exchanges with Mrs Badenoch yesterday to say: 'Prime Minister, it's Prime Minister's Questions. We've got to concentrate.' Following the heated clashes, the PM was seen to approach Sir Lindsay's chair as he left the Chamber to speak to him.  One MP who witnessed the scene at close quarters said Sir Keir was clearly incensed at the Speaker. 'He was fuming with Lindsay,' they told the Daily Mail. It was the third occasion in recent weeks in which Sir Lindsay has had to intervene to remind Sir Keir that he is supposed to be answering questions. The Speaker later issued a statement saying that he occasionally had to remind PMs of the 'rules of engagement' in the chamber. He added, pointedly, that the point had been made to No10 officials 'on several occasions recently' following similar interventions on previous weeks.  A spokeswoman for the Speaker's Office said yesterday: 'The Speaker is not responsible for the questions asked by Members or the answers given by Ministers.  'Questions to Ministers should relate to matters for which they are officially responsible. Equally, answers should be confined to the points contained in the question.  'Every so often the Speaker has to remind Prime Ministers - and Ministers - of the rules of engagement in the Chamber. 'The Speaker has made this point to officials at No 10 on several occasions recently as well.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.