Boris Johnson contacts Angela Rayner over 'misogynistic' article amid calls for journalist to lose his parliamentary pass

April 25, 2022

Boris Johnson contacts Angela Rayner over 'misogynistic' article amid calls for journalist to lose his parliamentary pass

Angela Rayner responds to Boris Johnson during PMQs on Wednesday January 19, 2022.
House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images

Boris Johnson contacted deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner to condemn a "misogynistic" article about her.
A Mail on Sunday story quoted Tory MPs as saying Rayner attempts to distract him in parliament by crossing and uncrossing her legs.
The article sparked outrage, including calls for the story's writer to lose his parliamentary pass.

Boris Johnson has contacted the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, to make clear his condemnation of misogynistic comments apparently made by Tory MPs about her, the BBC reported.

An article in the Mail on Sunday reported that Conservative backbenchers have claimed Rayner tries to distract the prime minister in the Commons by repeatedly crossing and uncrossing her legs.

The article described Rayner's supposed tactic as "a Basic Instinct-inspired ploy to 'put him off his stride' at PMQs," comparing it to an infamous scene in the 1992 movie starring Sharon Stone.

However, the article has prompted criticism across the political spectrum, with Tories and Labour MPs attacking its contents and the unnamed MPs quoted.

Rayner hit out at the article, saying: "Boris Johnson's cheerleaders have resorted to spreading desperate, perverted smears in their doomed attempts to save his skin.

"They know exactly what they are doing. The lies they are telling."

But Johnson sought to distance himself from the story, tweeting that he "deplore[d] the misogyny." He subsequently contacted Rayner personally, the BBC reported.

—Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 24, 2022

Caroline Nokes, a former minister and chair of the women and equalities committee, said she had contacted the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to ask if the journalist behind the story, Glen Owen, should have his lobby pass removed.

Alicia Kearns, another Tory MP, said the article's misogyny was "unacceptable" and called colleagues' comments "utterly shameful."

She added: "When women in politics are consistently demeaned and denigrated for their sex and appearance, misogynists across our country are empowered."

Huw Merriman, chairman of the transport committee, also condemned the "bizarre" article, telling Sky News it was the type of "abuse" that could put women off entering politics.

Chris Philp, a culture minister, told the BBC that Tory MPs who hold those views could face "serious consequences" if they were identified.

In the Commons last week, Labour's Barry Sheerman, called for Quentin Letts, a sketch writer for The Times newspaper, to have his parliamentary pass revoked over a "sexist, misogynistic and totally unacceptable" column about female MP Lyn Brown.

Hoyle dismissed such a suggestion, noting the importance of the "freedom of the press."

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