British MPs tweet outrage over Daily Mail headline
LONDON: A Daily Mail front page that declared “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!” next to a photo of Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and British prime minister Theresa May has prompted widespread outrage.
Inside the paper there was more ogling at the female leaders, with a headline reading: “Finest weapons at their command? Those pins!”
A column by Sarah Vine referred to Sturgeon’s legs as “altogether more flirty, tantalisingly crossed … a direct attempt at seduction.”
The front page, which appeared on Twitter on Monday night, met with instant criticism from politicians and the public.
Among the first to criticise the front page as sexist and offensive were the Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper.
Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, labelled the paper “utter scum” and urged anyone who spotted a copy of the Mail to rip it up. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted: “The 1950s called and asked for their headline back.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn echoed their condemnation, saying such attitudes should be “consigned to history”.
Later editions of the paper appeared to attempt to water down the editorial line, describing it on the front as: “Sarah Vine’s light-hearted verdict on the big showdown”.
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT BACKS BID FOR NEW REFERENDUM
The Scottish parliament voted on Tuesday to back First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s bid to hold a new independence referendum in late 2018 or 2019, once the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union have become clearer. The Edinburgh assembly’s vote, which was widely expected, gives Sturgeon a mandate to seek permission from the British parliament in London to press forward with preparations for a referendum.