Angela Rayner: Mail on Sunday editor refuses to meet Commons Speaker over 'misogynistic' article
The newspaper boss responsible for a widely condemned article accusing the deputy Labour leader of a "ploy" to distract the prime minister has said he will "not take instruction from officials of the House of Commons".
Wednesday 27 April 2022 10:36, UK
The editor of the Mail on Sunday has refused to meet the Commons Speaker over the newspaper's "misogynistic" report about MP Angela Rayner.
David Dillon declined an invitation to meet Sir Lindsay Hoyle to discuss anonymous claims published in the newspaper that the deputy Labour leader crossed and uncrossed her legs during Prime Minister's Questions to distract Boris Johnson.
The article has been widely condemned as "sexist" and "misogynistic", and Ms Rayner described it as "disgusting".
In a letter to the Speaker, published in the Daily Mail, Mr Dillon said he would not be attending the meeting because journalists should "not take instruction from officials of the House of Commons, however august they may be".
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He wrote: "The Mail on Sunday deplores sexism and misogyny in all its forms. However journalists must be free to report what they are told by MPs about conversations which take place in the House of Commons, however unpalatable some may find them."
Mr Dillon said that although the newspaper had "the greatest possible respect both for your office and for parliament [which] along with a free press are the foundation stones of British democracy", the invitation would be declined.
Sir Lindsay had said he wanted to use the meeting to ask that "we are all a little kinder", issuing a plea to journalists to consider the feelings of MPs and their families when covering stories in parliament.
Some MPs had called for the Mail on Sunday's political editor, Glen Owen, who wrote the report about Ms Rayner, to have his Commons pass removed.
In an apparent comeback to Mr Dillon's comments about a "free press", Sir Lindsay said he had only recently rejected calls to remove the parliamentary pass from another journalist.
"I am a staunch believer and protector of press freedom, which is why when an MP asked me to remove the pass of a sketch writer last week for something he had written, I said 'no'," he said.
"I firmly believe in the duty of reporters to cover parliament, but I would also make a plea - nothing more - for the feelings of all MPs and their families to be considered, and the impact on their safety, when articles are written. I would just ask that we are all a little kinder.
"That is what I wanted to talk about at tomorrow's meeting."
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Angela Rayner says she had to prepare her teenage sons for 'misogynistic' article
In response to the article in last weekend's Mail on Sunday, the prime minister tweeted that he respected Ms Rayner and deplored the "misogyny directed at her anonymously today".
Ms Rayner, appearing on ITV's Lorraine programme on Tuesday, said she had appealed to the newspaper not to run the story, based on claims by an unnamed Tory MP.
Labour's deputy leader has also criticised the Mail on Sunday for suggesting "I somehow enjoy being subjected to sexist slurs".
She tweeted: "The Mail implies today that I somehow enjoy being subjected to sexist slurs. I don't. They are mortifying and deeply hurtful.
"'She loves it really' is a typical excuse so many women are familiar with. But it can't be women's responsibility to call it out every time. I don't need anyone to explain sexism to me - I experience it every day.
"Boris Johnson gave assurances he would unleash 'the terrors of the earth' on the Tory MPs spreading this vile sexism. I hope to hear what he'll be doing about it today."
Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, said it was up to Mr Dillon whether or not he attended the meeting.
Asked whether the editor was right to refuse to meet the Speaker, Mr Raab told Sky News: "I think it was a legitimate thing for Lindsay to invite him. And of course, it's the prerogative of any leader to decide how they treat that invitation."
Mr Raab, who is also the deputy Conservative leader, said that his counterpart Ms Rayner is "a formidable opponent", adding: "I respect her entirely and I can't stand this kind of thing."