Angela Rayner has accused the Daily Mail of suggesting she “enjoys being subjected to sexist slurs”, during the row over comments made by Tory MPs about her using so-called Basic Instinct tactics in parliament.
The deputy Labour leader’s comments came after the newspaper sought to explain why it refused a Commons meeting to discuss an article claiming she crossed and uncrossed her legs in an attempt to distract Boris Johnson during PMQs.
In a statement in today’s Mail explaining his decision to reject the invitation, Mail on Sunday editor David Dillon said new evidence had come to light suggesting Ms Rayner herself was the original source of the story, because she had been joking about the notion of using these tactics in a conversation with Tory MPs on the Commons terrace.
Responding to what she said was an implication by Mr Dillon that she “somehow enjoyed” being on the receiving end of sexist remarks, Ms Rayner said: “I don’t. They are mortifying and deeply hurtful.” She added that she “hoped” for an update on the situation at today’s PMQs.
