Boris Johnson was booed by the crowd outside St Paul’s Cathedral as he arrived for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service.
Members of the public could be heard booing, jeering and whistling as the prime minister walked up the steps with his wife Carrie on Friday morning.
Many of the senior political figures – included former Tory prime minister David Cameron and Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan – were cheered by the crowd behind the barricades.
But BBC presenter Jane Hill noted that there was “really quite a lot of booing, actually – a substantial amount” received by Mr Johnson as he entered the cathedral.
The arrival of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and cabinet ministers such as Priti Patel and Liz Truss went unmarked by the crowd outside St Paul’s. The loudest cheers appeared to be for Harry and Meghan.
Some people could be heard applauding and cheering as Mr Johnson ascended the staircase, while some supporters were heard chanting: “Boris, Boris, Boris” as he the PM left the cathedral.
But the prime minister was also heckled as he left the service, with one person shouting “f*** off Boris”.
Clement Jacquemin said he booed Mr Johnson as he left St Paul’s because “he is a disgrace” – saying the PM should have “stayed home, made himself forgotten, and let the British public enjoy this day”.
A Labour source told The Independent: “The boos for the prime minister will have been rude awakening to those Tory MPs who have been in denial about the public’s anger at the industrial scale law breaking they’ve seen in No10.”
It comes as rebel Tories MPs expressed fears about the timing of a push to remove Mr Johnson, with some sharing doubt that next week is the right moment to trigger a no-confidence vote.
One Tory MP keen to see Mr Johnson replaced has urged colleagues to withdraw their no-confidence letters to prevent a vote happening “by accident” at the start of next week, according to The Guardian.
Anxious anti-Johnson backbenchers are said to fear that potential leadership candidates have not had enough time to mobilise and encourage wavering MPs to look beyond Mr Johnson.
Some believe the period after two by-elections in June would present the best chance of defeating the PM in a confidence vote.
Meanwhile, Ed Costelloe, head of the Grassroots Conservatives activist group called on the Tory leader to resign over the Partygate scandal – saying the PM would “put off voters” at the next general election.
Tributes were paid to the Queen’s 70 years of “dedicated service” as 2,000 people including Mr Johnson, senior ministers, opposition leaders, and first ministers of devolved governments fill the historic church.
Prince Charles represented his mother after the 96-year-old monarch pulled out of the high-profile occasion at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
She suffered “discomfort” following a busy first day of festivities including a double balcony appearance and a beacon lighting. She will be watching the ceremony on television as she rests at Windsor Castle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were back in full public view alongside the Windsors for the first time since they quit the monarchy for a new life in the US two years ago.
Public service is the theme at the heart of the religious event, with 400 people who are recipients of honours, including NHS and key workers who were recognised for their work during the pandemic, invited.
The Archbishop of York will deliver the sermon and has described the prospect as a “slightly terrifying gig”. The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell had to step in at the 11th hour after the Archbishop of Canterbury contracted Covid.
