Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch landed a seven-word attack on Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a heated Prime Minister's Questions session, telling him he had "opened his mouth without engaging his brain" over his stance on freedom of movement.
The clash came minutes before Chancellor John Healey was due to deliver the Budget, with Mrs Badenoch pressing Mr Burnham on his suggestion that the UK could reintroduce freedom of movement with the EU. She urged him to rule out another referendum on EU membership, but he declined, saying only that he would not make major changes before a general election.
Burnham insists on 'no confusion'
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Burnham insisted there was "no confusion at all" over his position, a claim that drew laughter from Tory MPs. He said the Government had "a collectively agreed position", which he had set out that day, and added that it was "entirely consistent" with everything he had said, including during the by-election.
Mr Burnham stressed that the red lines in the manifesto, including on freedom of movement, would "stay in place firmly for the whole of this Parliament". He also said he would not defend the deal negotiated by the Conservatives, describing it as "bad for growth and bad for control of immigration".
Badenoch's response
Mrs Badenoch said: "It is the Chancellor's big week, and the Prime Minister popped up on telly and opened his mouth without engaging his brain." She insisted that nobody in the UK wanted another big debate about EU deals and Brexit.
The exchange followed an interview in which Mr Burnham suggested he could call a referendum on bringing back freedom of movement, although Downing Street officials later said this was not government policy.
