Nadine Dorries has been criticised after she accused Michael Gove was “drunk” as pro-Palestine protesters marched through central London.
The levelling up secretary was heckled as he walked towards Victoria Station on Saturday afternoon.
People chanted “shame on you” at the cabinet minister, who had to be bundled into a police car to escape.
It is understood Gove was being driven back to London from his Surrey Heath constituency, but was forced to get out and walk because the roads were blocked. He was said to be “shaken” following the incident.
On BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Dorries said: “What was Michael Gove doing in the middle of Victoria Station on a day when any other sentient politician did not want to make the police’s job any harder?
“Was he drunk? What was he doing there? What judgement made him walk through Victoria Station?”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) later, Dorries said: “The point is, he was playing to the gallery. It was a stunt and those of us who have watched his unstable Machiavellian behaviour from the sidelines - his backstabbings, leaking and briefings, we can see right through him. There’s good reason why David Cameron has cast him into the outer darkness.”
Hitting back at Dorries, a source close to Gove told HuffPost UK: “It’s sad really, but she has a book to sell.”
That is a reference to The Plot, the former culture secretary’s book about the downfall of Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Gove’s ex-wife, Sarah Vine, also criticised Dorries on X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, condemned those who had targeted Gove.
Responding to a post on X which said it was “bizarre” for Gove to be walking in central London at that time, he said : “It’s not ‘bizarre’ for Michael Gove to use a major tube/train station. He should be able to travel in peace like everyone else.
“Those acting in this fashion damage their cause and, along with those displaying abhorrent anti-semitism amongst the rally today, must be condemned.”