Keir Starmer has called for an end to the “misogynist” culture at Westminster after his deputy Angela Rayner was accused of trying to distract Boris Johnson with her legs.
Starmer told ITV’s This Morning there would be “zero tolerance” for such attitudes in his own party.
According to the Mail on Sunday, some Tory MPs believe Labour’s deputy leader tries to distract the prime minister by “crossing and uncrossing her legs” during Prime Minster’s Questions.
Starmer said: “It is rank sexism, rank misogyny. She was really disgusted that all of her political attributes were put aside for this ridiculous, offensive story.
“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.”
Starmer said he had spoken to Rayner on Sunday morning after the report appeared in the Tory-supporting newspaper.
He said: “We have got to change the culture. The culture in Parliament, it is sexist, it is misogynist. We need to change it.
“That is what Angela said to me. She used this expression, she said ‘It triggered something in me about the way women are seen in politics’.”
He added: “I need to look at it within my own party wherever we see it. We will be absolutely on it with zero tolerance. There shouldn’t be a party political divide on this.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also contacted Rayner by text to express his disgust and distance himself from the reports.
Rayner accused allies of Boris Johnson of peddling “perverted smears” against her.
Johnson also went public with a tweet distancing himself from the story.
He wrote on Twitter: “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.”
But the sincerity of the condemnation was undermined when it appeared that Johnson and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries had chosen to use exactly the same wording in their tweets of support for Rayner.
In an awkward interview on Monday Technology minister Chris Philp said there was “nothing surprising” about the PM and culture secretary tweeting out the exact same message.
He said: “I’m sure she will have discussed it with the prime minister and they’ve reached the same view and they’ve used the same words.
“There’s nothing surprising that two colleagues in government have exactly the same view and have the same words.”
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