IN FULL: Keir Starmer receives EMOTIONAL FAREWELL as MPs bid praise and parting shots in FINAL PMQs

Keir Starmer has pledged to give total backing to his successor Andy Burnham during his final Prime Minister's Questions as he prepares to say goodbye to Downing Street. The outgoing leader first hosted farewell talks with his senior ministers at number 10 before taking his last Commons grilling - which he opened with a tribute to murdered politician Ann Widdecombe and added "we must do more to defend our democracy". Prime Minister-in-waiting Mr Burnham will edge closer to his job tonight as nominations for the Labour leadership formally close on Wednesday. Sir Keir's exchanges with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch began with good-natured exchanges before some tougher hand-over questions. But after Mrs Badenoch's tongue-in-cheek suggestion of a TV debate between their leader Nigel Farage and Count Binface, Sir Keir delivered a response ridiculing the Reform party that sparked much laughter. The PM told the Commons: "Mr Speaker, they intend to spend the summer arguing with a bin. My advice to everyone is 'put your vote in the bin'." Sir Keir is spending his final days in office highlighting what he sees as his legacy, including his backing of campaigns like the Hillsborough Law and the government's support for Ukraine. He closed PMQs by saying: "Every prime minister knows when they pick up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me. This is the end of my political journey." He closed PMQs by saying: "Every prime minister knows when they pick up the torch that the day will come when they have to pass it on. That day has come for me. This is the end of my political journey." The Mirror Facebook:   / dailymirror   The Mirror IG:   / dailymirror   The Mirror TikTok:   / dailymirror   The Mirror Twitter:   / dailymirror   The Mirror Homepage: https://www.mirror.co.uk Sign up for our newsletters: https://www.mirror.co.uk/email #keirstarmer #ukpolitics #uknews