Theresa May plays down row over '˜Legs-it' front page

Theresa May has played down a row over a Daily Mail front page which introduced a story about her meeting with Nicola Sturgeon by focussing on their legs.

The Daily Mail front page with the 'Legs-it' headline.

The Prime Minister said she did not mind if “people want to have a bit of fun” about how she was dressed.

Her comment came after the front page - which said “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!” - sparked a storm of controversy and was branded “moronic” and “sexist”.

Mrs May met Ms Sturgeon in Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza hotel on Monday to discuss the upcoming Brexit talks.

The Daily Mail’s headline was accompanied by a trail for an inside page article by columnist Sarah Vine – the wife of Conservative former cabinet minister Michael Gove – which discussed their appearance.

Following publication of the front page, Mrs May gave an interview to the Wolverhampton Express and Star in which she said: “As a woman in politics throughout my whole career I have found that very often, what I wear – particularly my shoes – has been an issue that has been looked at rather closely by people.

“Obviously what we do as politicians is what makes a difference to people’s lives. I think that most people concentrate on what we do as politicians.

“But if people want to have a bit of fun about how we dress, then so be it.”

Discussing the row sparked by the front page, Ms Vine told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “I think that people have maybe have had a slight sense of humour failure.

“A lot of the kerfuffle around this, if I may say so, is to do with the fact that this is a piece in the Daily Mail.

“If Private Eye were to run this picture on the cover of their magazine next week and put a similar headline, nobody would bat an eyelid.

“It’s just because it’s in the Daily Mail and people have a Pavlovian reaction to the Daily Mail.”

A spokesman for the newspaper said Ms Vine’s piece was a sidebar alongside the serious political coverage and added: ”For the record, the Mail was the paper which, more than any other, backed Theresa May for the top job.

“Again for the record, we often comment on the appearance of male politicians including Cameron’s waistline, Osborne’s hair, Corbyn’s clothes – and even Boris’s legs.

“Is there a rule that says political coverage must be dull or has a po-faced BBC and left-wing commentariat, so obsessed by the Daily Mail, lost all sense of humour… and proportion?”

However, a spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said: “It is slightly surprising that when the First Minister of Scotland and the Prime Minister of the UK meet to discuss the key issues of the UK’s departure from the EU and giving the people of Scotland a choice over their future that the main focus should be on their legs and what they are wearing.”