Jeremy Corbyn forced to apologise over ‘stupid woman’ slur to Theresa May

Jeremy Corbyn has been forced to deny calling Theresa May a “stupid woman” in the House of Commons | WATCH

Theresa May jeered at Jeremy Corbyn with panto lines. Picture: AFP.

Jeremy Corbyn has been forced to deny calling Theresa May a “stupid woman” in the House of Commons after a furore over the apparent sexist gibe.

After months of warring over Brexit, Tory MPs were for once united in condemnation of the Labour leader, who was accused of muttering the insult during an acerbic exchange in Prime Minister’s Questions.

“This kind of misogynistic language must not be tolerated,” fumed Conservative deputy chairman James Cleverly, while some female Labour MPs also warned it was “not ok”.

The row came after Mrs May accused Mr Corbyn of descending into “pantomime” over Brexit, her jeers complete with panto phrases such as “Oh no he isn’t, oh yes he is” to cheers from her party. As she sat down, Mr Corbyn appeared to mutter: “Stupid woman.”

The remark wasn’t picked up by microphones but MPs on both sides of the House were certain of what he said.

Jeremy Corbyn was caught on camera muttering “stupid woman” at Theresa May in the House of Commons. Picture; AFP.

Speaker John Bercow said he had consulted lip-readers who believed Mr Corbyn probably did deliver the slur, but no-one could be ‘100 per cent’ certain.

But Mr Corbyn returned to the House later in the afternoon to insist he had used the words “stupid people”, referring not to Mrs May but to those “seeking to turn a debate about the national crisis facing our country into a pantomime”.

He said he was “completely opposed to the use of sexist or misogynist language”.

There is growing concern about the level of abuse received by female politicians, especially on social media, and Mrs May said she did not want women to be “put off” becoming MPs by what might be said in parliament.

“I think it is incumbent on all of us in the House of Commons to be careful about the language that we use,” she told reporters.

The Brexit deal struck between Mrs May’s government and the European Union is unpopular with MPs and Mr Corbyn is furious that she has delayed a Commons vote on the agreement until January — just weeks before Britain leaves the EU on March 29.

London and Brussels this week stepped up planning for a “no deal” scenario, which Mr Corbyn warned this would be a “disaster for our country”.

Footage of the “stupid” comment quickly went viral on social media, watched by MPs on their phones — who then stood up in the Commons to demand that Mr Corbyn apologise.