There was more pushback than usual, but the smear didn’t come out of a clear blue sky – and there will be more mudslinging to come
It shouldn’t be remarkable, but it is. The prime minister’s suggestion that Keir Starmer, in his former role as director of public prosecutions, was responsible for the failure to prosecute the paedophile Jimmy Savile may soon be lost to the slipstream of political memory – but for a while, for more than a brief moment, it was met by a sustained chorus of anger and criticism across the country.
The BBC made clear that there was “no evidence” for the claim; other broadcasters unequivocally referred to it as a “slur” in their headlines; the former Tory chief whip and House of Commons Speaker both publicly rebuked Johnson; even one of his most loyal aides, Munira Mirza, hitched her resignation to it.
Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist
