The cloying praise showered on Keir Starmer by Labour MPs as he exited No 10 this week was almost enough to convince you that they'd got rid of him for being too popular, Peter Hitchens has joked. Speaking on the latest episode of the Alas Vine & Hitchens podcast, the longstanding Mail on Sunday columnist pointed to the number of figures in the Commons lauding the departing PM's wisdom and achievements - fresh from stabbing him in the back politically. Tributes came from seemingly all quarters, including Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who called on Keir Starmer to resign in February over the Mandelson scandal.Sarwar, who has been offered a seat in the House of Lords in order to feature in Burnham's Cabinet, spoke of the ex-PM's 'integrity' and 'determination' and his glowing 'legacy'. Meanwhile newly-appointed Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, a close Burnham ally who resigned as a minister in May after declaring she had lost confidence in Starmer, praised Sir Keir for 'bringing Labour back into Government and putting public service back at the heart of national life.' As well as mocking the hypocrisy of Labour MPs, Hitchens also took a shot at the new Prime Minister for acting like he had no involvement in his predescessor's overthrow.'As far as one could discover from the House of Commons last week, Keir Starmer was got rid of because he was so wonderful and because everybody loved him,' he joked. 'And this is quite strange. And Burnham had absolutely nothing to do with removing him, and has just inherited the post completely by accident, which is again fascinating.'