Boris Johnson accused of lacking compassion for coronavirus victims after making 'Calvin Klein briefs' joke
Boris Johnson has been accused of lacking compassion for Covid-19 victims, after cracking a gag about “Calvin Klein briefs” when questioned in the Commons.
Labour hit out after the prime minister targeted Keir Starmer’s background as a top lawyer, even as he sought to raise the concerns of bereaved relatives.
“I think it tells you everything you need to know about the prime minister’s flippant approach to this crisis and his style of leadership,” the Labour leader’s spokesman said.
“That’s hardly the response of the party of compassionate Conservatism.”
The row came after Mr Johnson chose to respond with a pre-prepared joke to a call for a message to bereaved families of coronavirus victims, worried about official warnings of a winter resurgence.
He replied: “We will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent a second spike in this epidemic.”.
But Mr Johnson then added: “One day he says it's safe to go back to schools, the next day he's taking the line of unions; one day they're supporting our economic programme, the next day they're saying our stamp duty cut is an unacceptable bung; one day they say they accept the result of the Brexit referendum, the next day, today, they'll tell their troops to do the exact opposite.
“He needs to make up his mind about which brief he's going to take today because at the moment he's got more briefs than Calvin Klein.”
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