Boris Johnson is fielding questions in the House of Commons after his defeat last night (Picture: Reuters/Wenn)

Boris Johnson hurled repeated insults at Jeremy Corbyn during a series of bad-tempered exchanges at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

The pair clashed over Brexit as the PM refused to answer questions and accused Mr Corbyn of running scared over a potential general election.

It was the first time Mr Johnson had faced MPs since they voted to take control of the House in a bruising vote last night.

He then promptly and brutally dismissed 21 Tory rebels, after they gave their backing to legislation that would effectively take a no-deal Brexit off the table.

This lunchtime, Mr Johnson accused rebels of wrecking his chances of doing a deal with the EU before the end of October by attempting a ‘surrender bill’.

He has threatened to call a snap general election but Mr Corbyn looks set to block his demands for a public vote on October 15.

Mr Johnson called the Labour leader a ‘big girl’s blouse’ and accused him of being a ‘chlorinated chicken’ by not agreeing to an election.

He then turned the air blue and swore when referring to Labour’s economic policies as ‘shit or bust.’

Meanwhile Mr Corbyn accused a furious Mr Johnson of ‘sham’ negotiations with Brussels that would see him run down the clock to a no-deal Brexit.

He said the PM has neither a majority nor the authority and accused of him of avoiding public scrutiny over our plans to leave the EU.

Mr Johnson is facing more public showdowns in Parliament later today as the nation remains in limbo over Brexit with the clock ticking on the official exit date.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Johnson had ‘no authority and no majority’

The planned legislation by the rebel alliance would force Mr Johnson to ask the EU to extend Brexit by three months unless a deal is agreed by mid-October or MPs officially vote for no-deal.

Mr Johnson said this ‘wretched surrender bill’ was more ‘dither and delay’ and pointed out the UK had been scheduled to leave the EU in March.

He told MPs: ‘We will get a deal by the European summit on October 17 and take this country out of the EU and get Brexit done.

‘What his surrender bill would do is to wreck any chance of the talks and we don’t know what his strategy is at all.’

Mr Johnson goaded Mr Corbyn saying it was a case of ‘What do we want? Dither and delay.

‘When do we want it? We don’t know.’

In retaliation, Mr Corbyn repeatedly asked him what negotiations he had been doing with the EU to change the Irish backstop – the main sticking point stopping a divorce deal being done.

He said EU leaders said openly said no progress was being made and Mr Johnson was attempting to deliberately run out of time because it is written in law that the UK leaves on Halloween.

Mr Corbyn then asked the PM to reveal details of what he knew about food and medicine shortages that official government papers have predicted in the wake of a no-deal Brexit.

The Labour leader added: ‘I can see why he’s desperate to avoid scrutiny – he has no plan to get a new deal, no authority and no majority.

‘If the Prime Minister does to the country what he has done to his party in the last 24 hours, I think a lot of people have a great deal to fear from his incompetence, his vacillation and his refusal to publish known facts that are known to him about the effects of a no-deal Brexit.’

John Bercow presided over a fiery clash in the House of Commons

Mr Johnson again claimed in the Commons that he did not want a general election, which would be the country’s third in four years.

He needs a two-thirds majority within the House to call a public vote but Labour are unlikely to give their backing without a series of legal guarantees surrounding Brexit.

Currently, Mr Johnson can set the date for a new election and the opposition do not trust him to call a vote before Brexit day.

During PMQs, the PM attempted to turn the tables on Mr Corbyn, saying the opposition did not want an election because they were ‘frit.’

At one point, the Tory leader threw his hands in the air proclaiming: ‘Call an election, you great big girl’s blouse.’

He then claimed the Labour leader was a ‘chlorinated chicken’ – a play on fears that US trade deals would lead to lower food standards post-Brexit.

If Labour fail to agree to back him, Mr Johnson now finds himself in charge of a minority Government and unable to control the House but unable to return to the electorate.

The chamber was packed for Wednesday’s PMQs (Picture: AFP)

Mr Johnson went on to say that he was a friend of the US – in anticipation of post-Brexit trade deals – whereas Labour sought friendship in socialist countries.

He added: ‘We think the friends of this country can be found in Paris, Berlin and in the White House, and he thinks they’re in the Kremlin, Tehran and in Caracas – and I think he is Caracas, Mr Speaker.’

The PM listed his plans for police, the NHS and the economy before highlighting comments by shadow education secretary Angela Rayner.

Mr Johnson said: ‘The shadow education secretary says that their economic policy is, I quote Mr Speaker by your leave, “shit-or-bust”.

‘I say it’s both, Mr Speaker.’

Mr Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings has been accused of having too much power over the direction of Brexit.

During the clashes, Margot James – who lost the whip on Tuesday after she voted against the Tories – pointedly reminded the house that ‘advisers advise, ministers decide.’

She added that Mr Johnson ‘ought to bear that statement closely in mind in relation to his own chief adviser Dominic Cummings.’

There were cheers and applause for Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi who asked Mr Johnson when he would apologise for his ‘derogatory and racist’ remarks about some Muslim women.

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The Labour MP blasted the Tory leader for his past remarks which had led to a ‘spike in hate crime.’

The PM has repeatedly refused to apologise and did so again at Wednesday’s PMQs claiming that the article in question was a ‘strong liberal defence of everybody’s right to wear whatever they wanted.’