Boris Johnson has been forced to condemn “misogyny” among his own lawmakers after an angry reaction to allegations that Angela Raynor deliberately distracted him by crossing her legs in the municipality.
The prime minister has been embroiled in a damaging debate over sexism after “anonymous” Conservative lawmakers claimed tactics similar to Sharon Stone’s scandalous scene in the 1992 film.
Ms Raynor, the Labor’s deputy leader, accused Mr Johnson of being behind what she called “desperate, perverse slander”, which was also aimed at her working-class background, she protested.
“The prime minister is the one dragging the Conservative Party down the drain – and the anonymous Tory MPs carrying out his orders are accomplices,” she wrote on Twitter.
The Conservatives first tried to settle the dispute, with Oliver Dowden, the party’s chairman, dismissing the story in The Mail on Sunday as “completely ridiculous”.
But as criticism grew, the prime minister was forced to intervene, tweeting that despite the political split with Ms Raynor: “I respect her as an MP and I regret the misogyny directed at her today.”
He did not mention that the sexism obviously came from his own MPs and it was understood that there would be no attempt to establish who was behind the briefing.
It was also pointed out that Culture Minister Nadine Doris posted an identical tweet, raising questions about whether Mr Johnson had written the words himself.
History has it that Tory MPs accuse Ms Raynor of using her feminine charm both when she replaces Sir Cair in the Prime Minister’s questions and when she sits next to him.
“She admitted it when she was enjoying a drink with us [Commons] terrace, “one MP was quoted as saying.
It is also said that Ms Raynor knows that “she cannot compete with Boris’s training for debate at the Oxford Union, but she has other skills that he lacks”.
In response, the deputy Labor leader tweeted: “Women in politics face sexism and misogyny every day – and I’m no different.
She added: “Boris Johnson’s cheerleaders have resorted to the spread of desperate, perverse slander in their doomed attempts to save his skin. They know exactly what they are doing. The lies they tell.
“I am given my biography in a pot – my overall education, my experience as a care worker, my family, my class, my past. The implication is clear. “
In response to the post of Prime Minister, Ms. Raynor added: “Thank you. Labor has suggested they do not plan to investigate who informed the prosecution.
But Keir Starmer said the sexism of those who spoke to Sunday’s newspaper was “a disgraceful new low-level party in a scandal and chaos.”
Sajid Javid, the health minister, was among other senior Tories who tweeted: “If an MP or MPs really said that, then it is extremely shameful. No woman in politics should tolerate this. “
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