What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

David Cameron showered Jeremy Corbyn with smears instead of answering his questions about cuts today in a brutal pre-election attack.

With his London candidate Zac Goldsmithtrailing in the polls, the PM tried to turn Prime Minister's Questions into Corbyn Questions instead.

Six times the Labour leader asked about Tory cuts in affordable rented housing, adult education and social care while giving tax breaks for the rich.

Four times the Prime Minister gave just one-line answers - and twice he didn't reply at all.

Read more:

Despite howls of anger from the opposition, he instead launched into a series of assaults on the Labour leader calling on him to disown his 2009 description of Hamas as "friends".

And in an increasingly dramatic string of assaults, he told the House of Commons Labour "puts extremists over working people".

It came after a torrid week for the Labour leader, who suspended several councillors, Ken Livingstone and MP Naz Shah over comments about Israel.

Mr Cameron seized on a comment Mr Corbyn made in a Parliamentary meeting welcoming Hamas and Hezbollah with the term "friends".

"Hamas and Hezbollah believe in killing Jews not just here but around the world," he thundered. "Withdraw that they're your friends!"

Read more:

The Labour leader replied several times, paying tribute to Holocaust victims and saying "anti-Semitism has no place in our society whatsoever and we all have a duty to oppose it".

He added: "The point he was making earlier relates to a discussion I was hosting in order to try to promote a peace process.

"It was not an approval of those organisations. I absolutely do not approve of those organisations."

He later added: "Obviously anyone who commits racist acts or is anti-Semitic is not a friend of mine. I'm very clear about that."

But the PM seized on his failure to mention Hamas and Hezbollah by name, pursuing him with all six answers - despite Mr Corbyn's attempts to ask about billions in spending cuts.

He shouted over the fray: "I'm afraid he's going to have to do this one more time!

"He referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as his friends. He needs to withdraw those remarks. Are they your friends or are they not?"

For the second week in a row he attacked London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan for "sharing a platform nine times" with his local Imam, Suliman Gani.

His slurs - including that Gani had "stood on a platform with people who wanted an Islamic state", rather than calling for one himself as he claimed previously - came despite Gani also posing with Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith.

(Image: Twitter / Suliman Gani)

Mr Corbyn replied: "It turns out that Mr Gani is actually an active Conservative supporter who has shared platforms with Zac Goldsmith.

"The Prime Minister should also reflect on the words of Lord Lansley some years ago when he said that racism was “endemic” within his party."

Yet the PM also attacked Mr Khan for sharing a platform with "Sajil Shahid, the man who trained the ringleader of the 7/7 attacks and accused the United States of bringing 9/11 on itself".

He neglected to mention that this happened in a 2003 conference which Mr Khan attended in his capacity as a human rights lawyer and chair of Liberty.

A spokesman for Mr Khan last month said he spoke out "because it was quite literally his job."

Mr Corbyn told MPs tomorrow's local elections were "about choices", saying of the Tories: "At every turn they make the wrong choices.

"Tomorrow people can make their own choices about the cuts to social care and the housing crisis."

But David Cameron also turned to voters, declaring: "You can choose a party that's on the side of security for hard-working people.

"[Or] you can back a party that puts extremists over working people - that's entirely incapable of providing the leadership your local council needs or our country needs."