Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has hit out at a story in the Mail on Sunday this morning which suggested she had been using a “Basic Instinct ploy” to distract Boris Johnson in the Commons.
The paper claimed that Ms Rayner had been accused by her Tory colleagues of putting the prime minister “off his stride” in the chamber by crossing and uncrossing her legs.
Ms Rayner said she believed the prime minister was himself behind the the “desperate, perverted smears” which likened her body language toward the PM to Sharon Stone’s iconic scene in the 1992 erotic thriller.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has since been forced to publicly denounce the blatant “misogyny” directed at the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.
Tweeting today, Mr Johnson said: “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 PM’s criticism has become the subject of ridicule on Twitter after beady-eyed users spotted that culture secretary Nadine Dorries shared an identical tweet in condemnation of the accusations against Ms Rayner.
Angela Rayner backed by cross-party support after Tory Basic Instinct ‘smear’
Opinion: ‘There’s an obvious alternative to the government’s Rwanda plan – they’re just overlooking it’
When parliament debated Patel’s Rwanda deal this week, she repeatedly made the claim that her opponents had no alternative to her plan. Critics might disagree, but they offered no solution to what to do about English Channel crossings in her view – a point many have bitterly contested, writes Thom Brooks.
But there is a clear alternative that would be a far better solution.
We might think it makes much better sense to return English Channel small boats to France or wherever in Europe they set off from than to pack them up and ship them 4,000 miles away. The priority is to organise their extradition – not to Rwanda – but to France or elsewhere in the European Union.
This might sound complicated, but it isn’t.
Watch: Dowden dismisses story accusing Rayner of using ‘Basic Instinct’ ploy at PMQs
Boris Johnson forced to condemn Tory ‘misogyny’ over Angela Rayner Basic Instinct ‘smear’
Boris Johnson has forced to condemn “misogyny” among his own MPs, after an angry backlash against claims that Angela Rayner deliberately distracts him by uncrossing her legs in the Commons.
The prime minister is embroiled in a damaging sexism row after “anonymous” Conservative MPs alleged tactics similar to Sharon Stone’s infamous scene in the 1992 film Basic Instinct.
Ms Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, accused Mr Johnson of being behind what she called the “desperate, perverted smears” which also targeted her working-class background, she protested.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more:
Defending the PM only ‘degrades’ democracy, says Labour MP
Prime minister Boris Johnson is trying to “tar everyone with the same brush and undermine democracy in order to get away with his own failings”, a Labour MP has said.
Ian Murray said that Mr Johnson and his government are “unfit to govern” Britain, adding that defending him only “degrades” democracy.
He told BBC Scotland: “We’re going through probably the biggest cost-of-living crisis in the history of this country, where many are discovering whether they can pay their bills, whether or not they can make a decision about heating or eating, and we seem to be consumed by a prime minister who’s completely unfit for office.
“He’s not just been doing this as prime minister. Every career he’s had, he’s either been fired from or asked to leave because his integrity has been under question.
“I just don’t think you should have that at any position in parliament, let alone prime minister.”
MoD update on war in Ukraine
The latest UK intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is as follows:
“Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in the Donbas this week.
“Despite Russia making some territorial gains, Ukrainian resistance has been strong across all axes and inflicted significant cost on Russian forces.
Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness.”
Watch: Patel outlines Rwanda plan, Johnson visits India and France goes to the polls | This Week in Politics
Blackford: UK has had ‘massive missed opportunity’ to reduce nuclear threat
The UK has had a “massive missed opportunity” to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons, the SNP’s Westminster leader has said.
Ian Blackford was speaking to Sophie Raworth on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.
Asked about the SNP’s ambition to remove the Trident nuclear deterrent from the Clyde Naval Base, Mr Blackford said the UK should have acted sooner to remove itself as a threat amid suggestions Vladimir Putin could use such weapons in his war in Ukraine.
Mr Blackford said: “You’ve got someone [Putin] that you don’t know if they’re prepared to press that button or not.
“There’s been a massive missed opportunity over the course of the last decades, because we should have been getting round the table with the Russians and others, and making sure that we were reducing the threat from nuclear weapons, reducing nuclear warheads.
Jeremy Corbyn will not be a Labour MP again after attack on Nato, Keir Starmer suggests
The former party leader was exiled for refusing to retract his insistence that the extent of antisemitism in Labour during the years he led it had been “dramatically overstated”.
But he has now clashed with the current leadership by suggesting military alliances such as Nato can build up “greater danger” in the world and should ultimately be disbanded.
Rob Merrick has more:
We have to make Westminster more welcoming to women, says Tulip Siddiq
Labour’s Tulip Siddiq said there needed to be a “zero tolerance” approach to alleged harassment by MPs.
It comes after The Sunday Times reported that three Conservative cabinet ministers and two Labour shadow cabinet ministers are facing allegations of sexual misconduct after being reported to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
Ms Siddiq, the shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News: “I’m also very upset about these allegations, that there is more stories coming out of MPs abusing their position for sexual favours or to manipulate staff or all the accusations that are coming out.
“I don’t care which party the MPs are from, there has to be an independent review, there has to be an independent panel that looks into this.
“If there are people from my party, there should be a zero tolerance to this. If there are people from Government, there should be a zero tolerance.
“We have to make Westminster more welcoming for female MPs but also staff members as well.”
