A sexism controversy has hit the UK Parliament after an objectionable story run by media organisation The Mail On Sunday. The story targeted Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Opposition Labour party.
The article quoted an anonymous leader of the ruling Conservative party to say that Rayner was crossing and uncrossing her legs while sitting across from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Parliament.
The story said that she was doing it to "distract" the Prime Minister and throw him "off his stride". The scene was compared to the 1992 movie 'Basic Instinct' by the news outlet. The story sparked a storm, inviting widespread condemnation and calls for tackling misogyny.
Reacting to the story, Rayner said that she had been accused of a ploy to distract the "helpless PM" by "being a woman, having legs, and wearing clothes". She blamed PM Johnson's "cheerleaders" of spreading "desperate, perverted smears in their doomed attempts to save his skin".
Boris Johnson also condemned the news story. He tweeted, "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."
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The Prime Minister is currently under continuous attack from the Opposition over illegal parties at his residence during the Covid lockdown. Johnson has already been fined by the Metropolitan Police. He is now facing a probe by lawmakers on whether he misled the Parliament over the parties. The Opposition has been calling for Johnson's resignation.