Tory chair Brandon Lewis and Chief Whip Julian Smith should have the “honour” to resign over the pairing scandal or be sacked, Labour says.

Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, responding to the Prime Minister’s refusal to accept the scandal undermined public trust and repeat of the claim it was an “honest mistake” at her Belfast press conference, said:

“It is unbelievable that the Prime Minister has repeated the desperate and blatantly untrue excuses made by her Party Chair and Chief Whip.

“This is a serious issue that goes beyond efficient administration in the House of Commons. This is about public trust in politics. At such a crucial time for our country, people expect candour and decency, not cowardice and dishonesty.

“Theresa May was right to call the Tories the ‘nasty party’, and nothing has changed. From forcing seriously ill MPs into the Commons in their wheelchairs, carrying sick buckets, to cheating a new mum out of her vote, this Government is rotten to its core.

“If Brandon Lewis and Julian Smith, two generals of the nasty party, don’t have the honour to resign, the Prime Minister should find the strength to sack them.”