Tory MPs make gestures about my 'bum and breasts' in the Commons, claims Labour MP
- Rotherham MP Sarah Champion reveals 'utterly appalling' behaviour
- Says some Tories are 'very good at gesticulating about female assets'
- Former charity boss is the first female MP elected in Rotherham
- Complaint follows revelations about public disgust at MPs' conduct
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Labour MP Sarah Champion accused Tory MPs of 'utterly appalling' behaviour in the Commons
Tory MPs have been accused of imitating ‘bums and breasts’ with their hands in the House of Commons.
Women speaking during debates face ‘utterly appalling’ behaviour from MPs opposite, a Labour claimed.
Sarah Champion condemned the ‘insidious’ culture in Parliament, which female MPs are forced to ignore.
The claims by one of the newest women MPs will again turn the spotlight on behaviour in the Commons, after MailOnline revealed letters written to the Speaker John Bercow complaing about the ‘morons, donkeys and tw**s’ heckling during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Miss Champion claimed some Conservatives were responsible for trying to degrade women during debates.
The first woman MP for Rotherham said the abuse across the Chamber was ‘awful’ and ‘really bad’ but admitted she did not know if Labour MPs did the same to female Tory MPs.
She told BBC Radio Sheffield: ‘Some Tories are very good at gesticulating about females' assets.’
Asked by presenter Rony Robinson whether she was referring to hand gestures and remarks about her ‘bum and breasts’ she said: ‘Yes ... I think it is utterly appalling, it's deliberately trying to degrade people, it's sexist and people ought to be pulled for it.’
Ms Champion said she had to ‘pretty much ignore it’ because responding would mean ‘you end up in a slagging match which I don't think is helpful’.
Miss Champion was elected MP for Rotherham in November last year after Denis MacShane quit after being charged over expenses fraud.
She previously ran a Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester and before entering Parliament was chief executive of the Bluebell Wood Children's Centre.
Miss Champion said she did not know if male Labour MPs behave in the same way ‘because I'm on the bench looking forward, but the Tories definitely do it to Labour women’.
Asked how she would react if her colleagues were acting in a similar way she said: ‘I would be utterly, utterly appalled and I would go and say something if I saw one of my Labour colleagues doing it.’
Abuse: MPs speaking in debates face heckling and ruse gestures from the benches opposite
She said she had not informed Speaker John Bercow about her concerns: ‘This is the problem, it's so insidious, it's so part of the culture there ... it's overlooked rather than ignored, I would say.’
However, dozens of members of the public about the behaviour of heckling, insulting and guffawing MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Letters, emails and web messages repeatedly accuse MPs of behaving like football hooligans, naughty schoolchildren, ‘rowdy buffoons’, ‘morons’ and ‘braying donkeys’ who do not live in the real world.
It is claimed MPs behave like 19th century ‘public schoolboys’ who think they are still in the Bullingdon Club, the Oxford University dining society which counted Mr Cameron and George Osborne as members and is famed for smashing up restaurants.
Just on of the dozens of letters sent to Parliament about the behaviour of MPs during PMQs
Most of the letters, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, raised concerns about the damage to Britain’s reputation overseas, the poor example set to young people and the effect it has on deterring people, especially women, from entering politics.
One of the most damning messages, posted on the Parliament website, said: ‘Get Cameron to answer the questions at Prime Minister’s Questions.
‘It’s beyond ridiculous. I hate you all with a colossal amount of passion anyway, but there is only so much piss you can take. Thanks a bunch you abhorrent t**ts.’
Some called for ‘red cards’, suspensions and even ‘fines’ to be imposed on MPs who refuse to be quiet.
Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls complained yesterday about a wall of noise from Tory MPs as he responded to the Autumn Statement.
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