John Bercow fires back at Theresa May for ‘abject failure’ in bitter Brexit row

John Bercow responds to ‘abuse of power’ claims by Theresa May

John Bercow has hit back at claims by Theresa May that he carried out the “greatest abuse of power” during the impasse over her Brexit deal.

In her new book titled The Abuse of Power, the former Prime Minister accuses the ex-Commons Speaker of “trying to thwart the delivery of Brexit”.

Mrs May, who was three times unable to get her Brexit agreement through the Commons, said she had “never seen someone so blatantly abuse the power they held as Speaker to promote a particular view”.

But Mr Bercow, who sparked fury from Brexiteers during his time as Speaker, today insisted she was trying to shift blame for her own “abject failure”.

He told Times Radio: “Her thesis carries no weight or credibility whatsoever. It represents I’m afraid and sad and absurd attempt to shift blame for her own abject failure.

READ MORE: Theresa May accuses John Bercow of ‘biggest abuse of power’ to thwart Brexit

“Three times she lost, three times she blamed Parliament for her loss, three times she failed to take responsibility for her own mistakes.

“The reason why she didn’t get her deal through is that she crafted a deal that was wholly unacceptable to her own party – and she couldn’t expect any other party to push it through for her. That is the long and short of the matter.”

Mr Bercow said Mrs May’s “problem” was that she was the “prisoner of her own party”.

He went on: “By comparison with her corrupt successor [Boris Johnson] and her incompetent successor but one, Liz Truss, she now gets a relatively good press.

“But what people shouldn’t forget is that she became prime minister in order to deliver Brexit, and she failed three times to do so.

“So I think the reason why she’s now thrashing around four years later, she never said a word to me at the time of this complaint, is that she wants to find someone to blame other than herself for her own palpable failure.”

In her book which is published next month, Mrs May said Mr Bercow “seemed so clearly to be following his personal agenda, and the impression was that he was working with those who favoured a second referendum and against the policy of the Government”.

She said: “This was manifested in different ways. He reinterpreted Standing Orders. He ruled that amendments could not be laid when the rules should have allowed them to be put down.

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“He overrode the long-standing convention that the Government determined the business of the House.

“Crucially, just when the Democratic Unionist Party had indicated privately that they would vote with the Government, thus enabling the deal to be agreed by the House of Commons, the Speaker ruled that he could not accept another vote on the deal.

“As a result, the debate was not allowed and no vote took place at that time. At that point, I am certain that he scuppered the Brexit deal.”

Mrs May quit as PM and Conservative leader in 2019 after failing three times to get her Brexit agreement through the Commons.

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