Foreign secretary Boris Johnson was given a firm dressing-down in the House of Commons earlier today (27 March) over a sexist remark.
Johnson was addressing the house when he referred to his Labour shadow counterpart Emily Thornberry as "Lady Nugee".
The shadow foreign secretary holds the title due to her husband being a Sir, though chooses to use her maiden name Thornberry.
Speaker John Bercow - clearly relishing the opportunity - then intervened, saying to Johnson: "First of all, we do not name call in this chamber, and secondly... we do not address people by the titles of their spouses. The shadow foreign secretary has a name and it is not 'Lady Something'.
"We know what her name is and it is inappropriate and frankly sexist to speak in those terms, and I am not having it in this chamber," he continued, receiving a round of applause from MPs.
"That is the end of the matter. No matter how senior a member, that parlance is not legitimate and it will not be allowed, and it will be called out."
Many of those watching have reacted on Twitter, praising the intervention:
Afterwards, Johnson apologised for "any inadvertent sexism or discourtesy that you may have deemed me to have been guilty of".
"And I heartily tender my apologies to the right honourable lady if she was offended by what I said and I meant no harm," he added. "And I apologise unreservedly to her if I have offended the feelings of the right honourable lady."
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
