Speaker accused of calling Leadsom a ‘stupid woman’

JOHN BERCOW was last night accused of calling the Leader of the House of Commons a “stupid woman” during a foul-mouthed tirade in Parliament.

The Speaker, already facing multiple accusations of bullying, astonished MPS as he allegedly muttered that Andrea Leadsom was “f------ useless”. MPS said his behaviour was “unbecoming of his position”. He did not deny making the comments and has not apologised to Mrs Leadsom, blaming his outburst on “an unusual and controversial day” in the Commons.

Sources close to Mrs Leadsom were last night trying to obtain footage of the incident from the camera that remains focused on the Speaker.

Mrs Leadsom is said to be “outraged” and is “weighing up” asking for an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Mr Bercow is at the centre of a bitter power struggle, with Tory MPS alleging that he is being protected by a cabal of Labour MPS who see him as a useful ally, while also objecting to his apparent willingness to grant opposition members more questions and speaking time.

The Speaker has faced repeated calls to resign as allegations that he bullied staff grew. One former private secretary was given an £86,000 payoff after complaining of bullying, while another was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after quitting her job.

His behaviour has led to a political tug-of-war, during which Theresa May called for the accusations to be “properly investigated”, only for Labour and Lib Dem MPS to allegedly block the move.

A source close to Mrs Leadsom said: “Andrea is absolutely determined to

see the independent complaints procedure up and running as soon as possible. As for Bercow’s terrible temper, it would be completely unacceptable to treat someone like that in any other walk of life.”

One MP who made Ms Leadsom aware of the tirade told The Telegraph: “He said ‘stupid woman’ and went on to say either ‘f------ useless’ or ‘f------ outrageous’ … I thought what I was witnessing was entirely outrageous.”

Mr Bercow made the comments during a point of order minutes after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

Daniel Kawcyznski , the Tory MP, said: “The Speaker is showing increasing signs of anger and frustration towards ministers and it is frankly unbecoming of his position. I am prepared to back the calls for him to go.”

Asked whether Mr Bercow had called Ms Leadsom a “stupid woman … f------ useless”, the Speaker’s Office said: “Wednesday was an unusual and controversial day in how business was handled … and some strong and differing views were expressed on all sides … The Speaker treats his colleagues with respect and strives at every turn to facilitate the House of Commons.”

When The Telegraph requested footage of the alleged incident, a member of the Parliamentary video recording service said that they were only permitted to keep one stream and all other clips had been deleted.