Tory MP Matt Vickers had suggested the PM was doing a good job of ‘blowing himself up’ after two men were found guilty over arson attacks at Keir Starmer’s propertiesDavid Lammy blasts Matt Vickers for making light of Starmer arson attackKemi Badenoch has been told to sack the party’s deputy chairman over “sickening” comments he made about the firebombing of the PM’s family home on the anniversary of Jo Cox MP’s murder.On Tuesday Shadow Home Office Minister Matt Vickers, joked with Jeremy Kyle about the attack on Keir Starmer’s properties and appeared to downplay Russian involvement. Mr Vickers had suggested the PM was doing a good job of “blowing himself up”, and repeatedly laughed when TalkTV host Jeremy Kyle used innuendo when joking about sexuality.He said: “The idea that there is some Russian secret effort to destabilise this country via the Prime Minister…you’d leave him in office, let him destroy the country. He’s kind of doing a pretty canny job of blowing himself up. “Deputy PM David Lammy accused the senior Tory of “laughing along to homophobic remarks”, and claimed he should be “ashamed” during an exchange at PMQs.David Lammy demanded an apology from the senior Tory(Image: House of Commons/AFP via Getty I)Demanding he is sacked, Anna Turley MP, Chair of the Labour Party, said: “It is frankly sickening that anyone would seek to laugh and joke about an appalling attack on a fellow politician’s family home. To do so on the same day as we stood in unity to mark the anniversary of our dear friend and much missed colleague Jo Cox, is beyond the pale.“Matt Vickers is not fit to be an MP and if Kemi Badenoch had an ounce of integrity or respect for the safety of those who seek to serve the public, she would do the right thing and sack him today. Just two days ago, Kemi Badenoch rightly called out the perpetrators of the vile attack against the Prime Minister. Some issues go beyond the rough and tumble of Party politics. If she fails to act now, her words clearly will have meant nothing.”Earlier Mr Lammy had also slapped down the Tory deputy chair after he laughed and joked about the arson attack.The senior minister said: “Yesterday he was on television laughing and joking about the arson attack on the Prime Minister’s home. Laughing about a firebomb targeting the Prime Minister and his family.Not only that, he joined with promoting conspiracies about the attack, and laughed along to demeaning homophobic remarks, he should be ashamed of himself. My advice to him is to grow up, apologise and do considerably better.”While Mr Lammy was speaking, the Commons erupted with shouts of “shame” at the Tory MP.Russia-linked Ukrainian Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted for plotting to damage property on Monday.The pair were stooges for a shadowy Russian-speaking taskmaster known as El Money.The attacks were orchestrated by El Money over the Telegram messaging service. El Money offered Lavrynovych £3,000 in cryptocurrency if the blazes were filmed and got on the news. The attacks in the middle of the night while people were in bed asleep posed a serious threat to life and left householders terrified. Following a trial, Lavrynovych was also convicted of damaging two properties by fire being reckless as to whether life was endangered on May 11 and 12 last year. A third defendant, Ukrainian Petro Pochynok, 35, was cleared of conspiracy to commit arson.Defending Mr Vickers, a Conservative spokesman said: “The content of the show, the way the interview’s being conducted, that’s a matter for Jeremy Kyle. Matt didn’t say anything wrong in his commentary, and was trying to be polite to the host of the programme when he was being interviewed.”Asked why he didn’t challenge the content, the spokesman said: “He was trying to be polite to a radio host as politicians often do but the party’s position is clear, as Kemi [Badenoch] set out yesterday. We condemn the arson attack and we wish the PM and his family well.”
