The House of Commons speaker slammed Boris Johnson’s “sexist language” yesterday.
The foreign secretary referred to his opposite number Emily Thornberry as “the Baroness, whatever it is, I cannot remember what it is… Nugee”.
Bercow intervened: “First of all, we don’t name call in this chamber.
“Secondly, we do not address people by the titles of their spouses. The shadow foreign secretary has a name and it’s not ‘Lady something’.
“It is inappropriate and frankly sexist to speak in those terms, and I’m not having it in this chamber.
“That is the end of the matter – no matter how senior a member, that parlance is not legitimate, it will not be allowed and it will be called out.”
A number of Labour MPs applauded the speaker’s comments.
Speaker John Bercow blasts Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for being ‘sexist’ in attacking Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry pic.twitter.com/u3toLsNvhs
— Richard Morris (@imrichardmorris) March 27, 2018
More from LabourList
Compass’ Neal Lawson claims 17-month probe found him ‘not guilty’ over tweet
John Prescott’s forgotten legacy, from the climate to the devolution agenda
John Prescott: Updates on latest tributes as PM and Blair praise ‘true Labour giant’