AG百家乐在线官网

Nigel Farage has hit back at Sir Keir Starmer after the Labour leader accused the prime minister of "dancing to the tune" of the former UKIP leader.

In a testy Prime Minister's Questions, Rishi Sunak refused to reveal whether he would allow the Brexit campaigner and TV presenter to join the Conservatives, after his predecessor, Liz Truss, suggested she would be willing to work with him to "turn our country around".

The Labour leader said Mr Sunak's party was "no longer the Tories your parents voted for" and had become the "political wing of The Flat Earth Society", as he referenced recent comments made by Ms Truss on a controversial trip to the US.

Politics latest: Starmer mocks Sunak over Truss's Farage comments

But Mr Farage has now accused Sir Keir of making an "extraordinary attack" on him, posting on X: "He must have forgotten that millions of Labour voters agree with me (rather than him) on stopping mass migration and our increasingly unrecognisable cities."

Mr Sunak accused the Labour leader of just "sniping from the sidelines" as he drew attention to the party's recent trouble in the Rochdale by-election, where it was forced to abandon support for its candidate after it emerged he made antisemitic remarks.

"We expel antisemites, he makes them Labour candidates," he said.

During PMQs, Sir Keir pressed Mr Sunak to reveal whether Mr Farage would be joining the Conservatives, after Ms Truss described him as the "man to restore the Tory party".

The Labour leader continued his attack on the prime minister by arguing he had "lost control of his party to the hordes of malcontents".

"When will he ever stand up to them, and end the pathetic spectacle of a Tory party that used to try and beat Nigel Farage now giving up and dancing to his tune instead?"

Read more:
MP ducks questions on Tory party suspension
Rishi Sunak told to remove whip from Liz Truss

Mr Sunak replied: "In our party, we have a proud tradition of diversity and accepting everyone from every background, it is a proud record that puts Labour to shame.

"This is the party that delivered the first Jewish prime minister, the first female prime minister, the first black chancellor, the first Muslim home secretary and is now led by the first British-Asian prime minister.

"While it seems he can only champion men from north London, it's the Conservatives who represent modern Britain."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

1:39

The Labour leader also questioned why Mr Sunak was allowing former prime minister Ms Truss to remain a Conservative MP and stand in the next election, telling the Commons: "They made her prime minister, now they can't bear talking about her. In search of fame and wealth, she's taken to slagging off Britain at every opportunity.

"She claimed that as prime minister she was sabotaged by the deep state. She also remained silent as Tommy Robinson, that right-wing thug, was described as a hero. Why is he allowing her to stand as a Tory MP at the next election?"

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Mr Sunak, referring to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said: "I don't believe a single member of this House supports Tommy Robinson. But if he wants to talk about former leaders and predecessors, the whole country knows his record because he sat there while antisemitism ran rife in his party and not once but twice backed a man who called Hamas friends."

During the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the US last week, Ms Truss was interviewed by Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former strategist, and asked whether she would work with Mr Farage - now an honorary president at the Reform UK party - to "restructure" the Conservative Party.

"I would like him to become a member of the Conservative Party and help turn our country around," she replied.