Dominic Raab was accused of imitating “a two Ronnies sketch” for his bumbled explanation of his winking at Angela Rayner during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Sources close to Mr Raab denied he had winked at Ms Rayner across the House of Commons floor, instead claiming he had directed the gesture at Shadow minister for Scotland Ian Murray.
The source told ITV that Mr Raab had winked after Mr Murray muttered it “would be ‘no bad thing’” if Ms Rayner became Labour leader.
However, the wink followed an exchange in which Mr Raab attacked Ms Rayner over rail strikes, claiming she had “flip-flopped” over whether to support last week’s RMT industrial action.
As he paused, Mr Raab winked before noting: “She talks about working people. Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday?”
In a tweet, Mr Murray ridiculed the response of Mr Raab’s team, saying: “Ah, I see. He was looking at you but winking at me. I'm sure that's a Two Ronnies Sketch!!!”
The comedy sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1987, and often featured surreal, absurd humour.
Reacting to the wink, Labour MP Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) tweeted: “I will never unsee Dominic Raab’s wink from the despatch box at Angela Rayner. I feel soiled.”
Ms Rayner replied on Twitter: “Imagine how I feel!”
The deputy leaders clashed over strikes and the cost-of-living crisis during a fiery PMQs, with Mr Raab also facing criticism for suggesting Ms Rayner was a “champagne socialist” for attending the Glyndebourne opera festival.
In response to Mr Raab’s jibe, Ms Rayner said outside the Commons: “My advice to the Deputy Prime Minister is to cut out the snobbery and brush up on his opera.
“The Marriage of Figaro is the story of a working-class woman who gets the better of a privileged but dim-witted villain. Judging by his own performance today, Dominic Raab could learn a lesson about opening up the arts to everyone, whatever their background.”
I know Dominic Raab is a karate black belt and everything - but I’ve got my kung fu pandas on and I’m ready! #PMQs pic.twitter.com/V3agJggAeT
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) June 29, 2022
Ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Rayner tweeted a photo of her panda-heeled footwear for the occasion.
She wrote: “I know Dominic Raab is a karate black belt and everything – but I’ve got my kung fu pandas on and I’m ready!”
