:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/GKCICNVGE2LHAL3CKR5CICGVOE.jpg?fit=758%2C426&ssl=1 "Boris Johnson’s head of policy has resigned in protest over the PM’s false Jimmy Savile slur")
Boris Johnson aide Munira Mirza resigns over British PM’s Jimmy Savile slur
UK prime minister backtracks on accusation that Labour leader had failed to prosecute notorious paedophile
A close adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned after the British leader accused opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer of allowing notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile to escape justice.
Munira Mirza, who operated as head of policy at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s office, said she would be stepping down from the position due to the “inappropriate and partisan reference”, which was made in parliament on Monday.
Ms Mirza has been a long-time ally to the prime minister and the pair have had a professional relationship for more than 14 years, dating back to when Mr Johnson was London mayor.
Mr Starmer was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service from 2008 to 2013 until he stepped down from the service, later becoming a member of parliament and leader of the Labour Party.
The prime minister was heavily criticised on Monday after he said Mr Starmer had “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” during his tenure.
Ms Mirza, 44, denounced the accusation as “scurrilous” in a letter to the prime minster, which was published in the right-leaning Spectator magazine.
“I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice,” the letter read.
“There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion. This was not the usual cut and thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse. You tried to clarify your position today but, despite my urging, you did not apologise for the misleading impression you gave.
“You are a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand, which is why it is so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the Leader of the Opposition.”
During an interview on Thursday, Mr Johnson backtracked on the widely criticised and debunked claim that the Labour leader failed to prosecute Savile.
Mr Johnson, in an interview on Thursday, claimed he had not been talking about Sir Keir’s “personal record” when he was director of public prosecutions.
The Tory revolt against Mr Johnson over allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in No 10 was growing, with 13 Conservative MPs calling for his resignation.
Mr Johnson once praised Ms Mirza as a “brilliant thinker” and listed her as one of the five women who had influenced and inspired him the most.
Dominic Cummings, the former chief aide to No 10 who is agitating for the prime minister’s removal, said her resignation is an “unmistakable signal the bunker is collapsing”, adding that the “PM is finished”.
