A newly appointed minister reiterated allegations that Angela Rayner “extended her legs” to distract Boris Johnson in the House of Commons.
In an April newspaper article, Tory MPs were quoted as saying that the deputy leader attempted to discourage Mr. Johnson.
Lia Nici reiterated the charges that Mr. Johnson had previously referred to as “sexist, misogynistic nonsense.”
Ms. Rayner said the Great Grimsby Conservative representative “should be ashamed of herself.”
Ms. Nici made the remarks following her appointment as minister for Leveling Up.
In a conversation with Labour MP for Bradford West Naz Shah, Ms. Nici stated, “Let’s be straightforward here. We discuss ethics and honesty.
“The deputy shadow leader thought it would be humorous to open her legs in the chamber and then boast to everyone that it was male members of the other party who had been staring at her while she drank on the terrace and laughed about it.”
Ms. Shah responded by describing the minister’s remarks as “extremely reprehensible.”
“I’m not sure what’s more disappointing, Lia,” remarked Ms. Shah.
“Listening to a fellow woman use misogynistic terminology or “whataboutery” to distract from the failure of this administration not just now, but over the past 12 years of austerity,” she said.
In a Mail on Sunday report published earlier this year, an unnamed Tory MP alleged that Ms. Rayner attempted to distract Mr. Johnson in the House of Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs.
Ms. Rayner condemned the article as a “perverted slander” that demonstrated daily misogyny in politics.
Mr. Johnson responded by threatening to unleash “the terrors of the world” on the source if they were ever identified.
The prime minister told reporters at the time that it was “difficult” to determine if there was a cultural problem in Parliament, but he called the tale about Ms. Rayner “the most abhorrent load of sexist, misogynistic tripe.”
Ms. Rayner complimented her fellow Labour MP for “calling out Lia Nici on this” in a tweet she sent after the program’s broadcast.
“Boris Johnson vowed to unleash ‘the terrors of the earth’ on the Tory MPs propagating these disgusting allegations,” the article reads. Instead, he elevated them to ministerial positions,” she wrote on Twitter.
They are truly unfit to govern.
