Boris Johnson is facing a furious backlash after he told MPs the best way to honour the memory of murdered MP Jo Cox was to deliver on Brexit.
There was an uproar in the Commons on Wednesday as the prime minister repeatedly berated MPs for "sabotaging" Brexit, accusing them of passing a "surrender act".
Mr Johnson characterised a Brexit delay bill as a "surrender act" and a "humiliation". Source: AAP
In highly charged scenes, he challenged the opposition parties to table a vote of no confidence or back a general election and face a "day of reckoning" with the voters.
But there was fury after he brushed aside an appeal by Labour MP Paula Sherriff to curb his "violent" and "inflammatory" language.
She said that like Cox - who was killed by a man with far-right sympathies just days before the 2016 Brexit referendum - many MPs faced death threats from people using the same sort of language as the prime minister.
Johnson retorted he had "never heard such humbug in all my life".
There was further outrage when he told another Labour MP the best way to honour Cox - an ardent Remainer - was to "get Brexit done".
Tributes for Jo Cox, in Parliament Square, outside the House of Parliament in London. Source: AP
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the PM's language "was indistinguishable from the far-right", while his Liberal Democrats counterpart Jo Swinson said Johnson's comments were "a disgrace".
"He heard the pleas of MPs, many of whom who have faced death threats, to moderate his language and dismissed their concerns with the same callous bluster that has become his trademark," Swinson said.
Former cabinet minister Amber Rudd - who quit the government and the Tory Party over Johnson's approach to Brexit - told ITV's Peston programme the premier's remarks were "dishonest and dangerous".
Britain's Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn has gained ground on the Conservatives. Source: AAP
Cox's widower, Brendan Cox, said he felt "a bit sick" at the way her name was being used.
"The best way to honour Jo is for all of us (no matter our views) to stand up for what we believe in, passionately and with determination. But never to demonise the other side and always hold onto what we have in common," he tweeted.
Despite Johnson's attacks, opposition parties again made clear they would not agree to an election until they were sure the threat of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 was off the table.
Downing Street said if opposition MPs did not take up the prime minister's offer to table a no-confidence motion, the government would take it as a mandate to press on with Brexit.
Johnson was forced back to Westminster, cutting short his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, after the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday his five-week suspension of Parliament was illegal.
The government will ask MPs on Thursday to agree to a three-day break for the Commons next week while the Tories stage their annual party conference in Manchester.
