An uneventful Monday was enlivened this evening by some rather unappealing scenes outside parliament. Walking back from a Ministry of Defence briefing, Sir Keir Starmer was surrounded by a group of foul-mouthed anti-lockdown protesters who yelled he was a ‘traitor,’ forcing the Labour leader to leave with a police escort.

Starmer had to be bundled away into a police car after numerous insults were aggressively hurled at him. Several demonstrators claimed the former top lawyer was guilty of ‘protecting paedophiles’ while other shouted  ‘Jimmy Savile’ — a presumed reference to Boris Johnson’s comments last week about the reviled TV personality.

Johnson claimed last Monday that Starmer, when he was director of public prosecutions, spent the majority of his time ‘prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can make out.’ The comment sparked a furore on both sides of the House, with many claiming the Prime Minister had failed to adequately distinguish between Starmer’s personal responsibility (none) and his departmental responsibility as the head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time the decision was taken not to prosecute Savile.

The fact that a number of the protestors this evening referenced the ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ host has already raised questions again about the Prime Minister’s rhetoric and whether it stoked the mob which swarmed Starmer. Already Labour MP Chris Bryant has accused Johnson of ‘inciting’ violence against Starmer amid much talk about the actions being a consequence of the PM’s words.

And it’s not just Labour MPs queuing up to attack Johnson. Former Tory chief whip Julian Smith has weighed in, writing on Twitter that: ‘What happened to Keir Starmer tonight outside parliament is appalling. It is really important for our democracy & for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.’

Whatever happens, the incident is yet another indication of how hard it will be for the Johnson administration to try and draw a line under the shambles of the last few weeks.