London, Apr 25 (PTI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday declared that any parliamentarian behind a controversial newspaper article would face the “terrors of the earth” for targeting a female member of Parliament on the Opposition Labour Party benches.
Claims reported in an article in the ‘Mail on Sunday’ have been criticised across party lines for what has been branded a “misogynistic” attack on Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.
Johnson took to Twitter and also messaged Rayner directly to condemn the article quoting an anonymous Conservative source to allege that Rayner used a tactic from the 1992 Sharon Stone film ‘Basic Instinct’, of crossing and uncrossing legs, to distract the UK prime minister in the Commons.
“I have to say I thought it was the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe,” he told reporters, when asked about the issue on Monday.
“I immediately got in touch with Angela and we had a very friendly exchange. If we ever find who is responsible for it, I don’t know what we will do, but they will be the terrors of the earth. It’s totally intolerable, that kind of thing,” he said.
Asked whether the report reflected a cultural problem of how women are viewed within the political ranks, Johnson said it is “hard to say on the basis of that particular story”.
On Sunday, an anonymous Tory source was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Rayner “knows she can’t compete with Boris’s Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks”.
While Rayner lashed out at the report as a “perverted smear” that reflected the misogynistic behaviour faced by female parliamentarians, her party leader said no MP should have to put up with such attacks.
“It is rank sexism, rank misogyny. She was really disgusted that all of her political attributes were put aside for this ridiculous, offensive story,” said Labour Leader Keir Starmer.
“She shouldn’t have to put up with it but all women in politics shouldn’t have to put up with it. Almost every woman in politics has had an element of this in some shape or form. We have got to change the culture. The culture in Parliament, it is sexist, it is misogynist. We need to change it,” he said.
Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, also made an intervention in Parliament over the issue and said he had summoned the editor of the newspaper for a meeting over the “offensive” article.
He also confirmed a meeting with Tory MP Caroline Nokes, the chair of the Commons Equalities Committee, who has suggested that the journalist behind the story should have their parliamentary lobby pass revoked.
Taking to Twitter soon after the report was published on Sunday, Johnson said: “As much as I disagree with Angela Rayner on almost every political issue, I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today.” Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her solidarity from “across the political divide”.
“It’s a reminder of the deep misogyny women face every day,” she said.
Rayner herself has pledged not to let the report intimidate her.
“I won’t be letting their vile lies deter me. Their attempts to harass and intimidate me will fail. I hope this experience doesn’t put off a single person like me, with a background like mine from aspiring to participate in public life. That would break my heart,” she tweeted. PTI AK MRJ AKJ MRJ
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.