PMQs: Boris Johnson delivers final speech as Prime Minster

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The outgoing premier departed the Commons dispatch box yesterday with a “hasta la vista, baby” quip and a swipe at Rishi Sunak.

Most Tory MPs gave him a standing ovation, although his predecessor Theresa May joined opposition MPs in refusing to clap.

Mr Johnson was in ebullient and unapologetic form for the final PMQs before the Commons breaks up for the summer break and handover of power in Downing Street.

He denounced Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as “a great pointless human bollard” and brushed aside a series of hostile questions from Labour, SNP and other opposition MPs.

At the end of the session, he set out advice for the successor set to be chosen in the Tory leadership contest.

He told MPs: “I want to use the last few seconds to give some words of advice to my successor, whoever he or she may be.

“Number one, stay close to the Americans, stick up for the Ukrainians, stick up for freedom and democracy everywhere. Cut taxes and de-regulation wherever you can and make this the greatest place to live and invest, which it is.”

In what appeared to be swipe at former chancellor Mr Sunak’s resistance to big-spending plans, the Prime Minister said: “I love the Treasury but remember that if we’d always listened to the Treasury we wouldn’t have built the M25 or the Channel Tunnel.”

Concluding his advice, he told his successors: “Focus on the road ahead, but always remember to check the rear-view mirror. And remember above all it’s not Twitter that counts, it’s the people who sent us here.”

He added: “The last few years have been the greatest privilege of my life, and it’s true that I helped to get the biggest Tory majority for 40 years and a huge realignment in UK politics. We’ve transformed our democracy and restored our national independence.

“I’ve helped to get this country through a pandemic and helped save another country from barbarism, and frankly that’s enough to be going on with. Mission largely accomplished, for now.”

After thanking his staff and MPs, the Prime Minister quoted the killer robot played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Terminator 2, saying: “Hasta la vista, baby. Thank you.”

Aides denied his reference to his mission being completed “for now” and the Terminator character known for the catchphrase “I’ll be back” were hints that the Prime Minister is plotting a comeback. “That was his way of saying farewell to his colleagues,” his press secretary said.

Earlier in the session, the Labour leader paid a brief tribute to the Prime Minister before asking a series of questions about the Tory leadership contest.

“I do know that the relationship between a prime minister and the leader of the opposition is never easy, and this one have proved no exception to the rule. But I would like to take this opportunity to wish him, his wife and his family the best for the future.”

Sir Keir went on to joke that the Tory leadership candidates showed “outrageous characters kicking lumps out of themselves” and claimed the Prime Minister lived in a “gold wallpapered bunker.”

Mr Johnson hit back by condemning Labour as “economically illiterate” and suggested no one could name any of the party’s policies. He joked that the Labour leader frequently made a “flapping gesture” because of “union barons pulling his strings.” And he mocked Sir Keir as a “human bollard” who merely attempted to obstruct any reform.

In a podcast yesterday, the Labour leader was even more damning about Mr Johnson’s record, accusing him of being a “complete bullshitter” who “took the piss” out of the public in a foul-mouthed tirade.

The Labour leader said the outgoing Prime Minister had been “found out” as the country has a sense that “this guy doesn’t mean a word that he says.” Mr Johnson’s press secretary accused the Labour leader of being “hypocritical.”

Veteran Tory backbencher Sir Edward Leigh used the final question at PMQs to pay tribute to Mr Johnson. “On behalf of the House may I thank the Prime Minister for his three years’ record of service.

“On behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in the country can I thank him for his insistence on rolling out the Astra Zeneca jab which has saved thousands of lives. On behalf of 17.4 million people who voted Brexit may I thank him,” Sir Edward said.

He added: “For true grit and determination keep going – and thank you.”

After Mr Johnson’s closing remarks, Tory MPs burst into applause while the opposition declined to join in. Nadine Dorries, one of the Prime Minister’s most loyal supporter, savaged Labour for their behaviour after the session

“Today the behaviour of Labour MPs shows how far Labour has fallen,” she said, branding Sir Keir’s party “graceless.”

She added: “They are truly unfit to ever be let near No10.”

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