A COUNTY Durham politician has been admonished in Parliament after a testy debate in which he said a neighbouring MP was plotting against the Prime Minister.
North Durham MP Kevan Jones was reprimanded by Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing on Tuesday after referring to reports Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison has been scheming to oust Boris Johnson.
National newspapers claimed Ms Davison was a lead conspirator in the so-called ‘pork pie plot’ among Red Wall Tories to submit letters of no confidence in the PM to the 1922 committee.
It came in the wake of the ‘partygate scandal’ over alleged Covid restriction breaches at Downing Street and the allegations of her involvement are something she subsequently denied to the Northern Echo.
Read more: Dehenna Davison on the 'pork pie plot' against Boris Johnson
Mr Jones made his comments during a debate about Local Government Finance on Tuesday after complaining Durham County Council’s budget had been cut by £232 million a year since austerity measures were introduced in 2010.
Mr Jones accused the Government of a ‘pork barrel approach to the doling out of money to certain Conservative seats’, highlighting Bishop Auckland as the County Durham constituency which had won either new towns funding or levelling-up funding.
He said: “County Durham is a wonderful county. It has some great towns and, more importantly, great people.
“But why did Bishop Auckland get that money as opposed to any of the other towns in County Durham?
“Well, it has a Conservative Member of Parliament.
“I doubt that it will be getting much funding in the future, following the recent antics of the honourable member for Bishop Auckland (Dehenna Davison), with her criticism and plotting against the Prime Minister.
“She will be on the naughty step for a while, and will not get any future funding.”
Mr Jones went on to describe the bidding process as a ‘beauty parade, clearly rigged by the Government’ before he was interrupted by the Deputy Speaker.
Dame Eleanor Laing, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said: “I did not want to jump in as a kneejerk reaction, but I have been considering what the right honourable gentleman has just said.
“He has made a very serious criticism of a member of this house.
“I just want to check whether he has given notice to the honourable lady that he intended to criticise her on the floor of the house?”
Mr Jones said he was not aware he had to give notice, or that he was criticising Ms Davison, before he was advised to apologise by the Deputy Speaker.
Mr Jones said: “I am not known for my subtlety. I am not sorry. I do not quite understand the point. The point I made was in reference to what has been in the newspapers. I was not criticising the honourable lady.
“Frankly, if she is working against the Prime Minister, I would congratulate more than anything, not criticise her. I do not think that it was a criticism.”
Mr Jones was invited to resume his speech and as he was talking about levels of deprivation, Hansard, the Parliamentary log, records an interruption in proceedings.
Mr Jones said: “I am sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker. You are interrupting what I am saying. I can’t hear myself think.”
The statement elicited an angry response from the Deputy Speaker who said: “I hope that the right honourable gentleman will simply withdraw what he has just said.”
Mr Jones said: “I will, but it is just irritating, Madam Deputy Speaker.”
The terse exchange ended with Dame Eleanor Laing saying: “I am sure that it has irritated the right honourable gentleman, and I am sure that he has never irritated anyone himself.
“Irritation is something that is allowed in this chamber; indeed, it is endemic.”
After the debate, a clip of the debate was shared by Conservative MPs, including North-West Durham MP Richard Holden, and their supporters.
Ms Davison tweeted: “Maybe Mr Jones could spend more time making the case for his constituents, rather than being rude to Madam Deputy Speaker and attacking neighbouring MPs for securing funding for our county.”
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