LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under renewed pressure to retract his claim that Mr Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing serial child-sex abuser Jimmy Savile to escape justice, after the Labour Party leader was chased by protesters who accused him of "protecting paedophiles".

Footage on social media showed a loud group of demonstrators surrounding Mr Starmer and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy as they walked in Westminster on Monday evening.

Some shouted "Savile" and "traitor" as the politicians were escorted by police.

The incident came a week after Mr Johnson accused Mr Starmer of spending most of his time in his previous role as director of public prosecutions "prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile".

That backfired, and led to a storm of criticism because Mr Starmer was not personally involved in the case.

Mr Johnson said on Twitter that the behaviour of protesters toward Mr Starmer was "absolutely disgraceful," adding that harassment of elected politicians was "completely unacceptable".

But he faced pressure from his own Conservative lawmakers to go further and apologise for the accusation.

Mr Julian Smith, a former Cabinet minister under Mr Johnson until he was sacked in a reshuffle in 2020, said on Twitter that the "false Savile slurs" must be withdrawn.

Mr Robert Largan, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) who was elected in 2019, said on Twitter he agreed with Mr Smith.

"What we say and how we say it echoes out far beyond Parliament," he wrote. "It can have serious real world consequences."

Mr Johnson took aim at Mr Starmer in the House of Commons last Monday, as the prime minister responded to a government report into lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Three days later, one of his closest aides,Ms Munira Mirza, quit as the government's head of policy over what she called a "scurrilous" remark.

While Mr Johnson appeared to back down on the claim, telling broadcasters on Thursday he was "making a point about" Mr Starmer's "responsibility for the organisation as a whole", rather than his personal record, she said he should have apologised.

"This was not the usual cut and thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse," she said in her resignation letter, seen by the Spectator magazine.