Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is set to meet with the Mail on Sunday's editor to discuss an article which claimed Angela Rayner tries to district Boris Johnson in the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs.
Sir Lindsay said the claims were “misogynistic and offensive” and could well deter women from standing for election.
The Mail on Sunday's piece included a quote from one anonymous Tory MP who said that Ms Rayner “knows she can’t compete with Boris’ Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks”.
Read more: The creepy Tory accusations against Angela Rayner were meant to undermine her - they have failed
Sir Lindsay said: "I express my sympathy to Angela Rayner for the subject of this type of comment. It's demeaning, offensive to women in Parliament and can only deter women who might be considering standing for election to the detriment of us all."
On a visit to Bury this morning, Mr Johnson said he was appalled by the article. He said: " I thought it was the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe. I immediately got in touch with Angela and we had a very friendly exchange.”
In a King Lear reference, he threatened to unleash “the terrors of the earth” on the source behind the comments if they were ever identified.
“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.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Ms Rayner had been “disgusted” by the claims and vowed there would be “zero tolerance” for such attitudes within his own party. “It is rank sexism, rank misogyny. She was really disgusted that all of her political attributes were put aside for this ridiculous, offensive story,” he told ITV’s This Morning programme.
“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.”
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