Theresa May fine with people "having a bit of fun" as Mail front page sparks row

Theresa May has played down a row over the Daily Mail's front page picture of her and Nicola Sturgeon focusing on their legs.

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

The national newspaper faced accusations of sexism after publishing a front page picture of the Prime Minister and Scottish First Minister under the headline “Who won Legs-it!”.

The Mail was condemned as “moronic” and accused of deterring girls from entering politics over its coverage of Monday's meeting between the two women.

But the newspaper's columnist Sarah Vine accused critics of having a “sense of humour failure”, while a Daily Mail spokesman hit out at its “po-faced” detractors.

And Mrs May told Wolverhampton's Express and Star: “If people want to have a bit of fun about how we dress, then so be it.”

Mrs May told the Express and Star: “You will notice that I am wearing trousers today!

“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.”

The Mail's front page carried a photograph of the two women sitting down for talks in Glasgow under the headline “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!”.

In later editions the headline was accompanied by a trail for an inside page article by Ms Vine - the wife of Conservative former cabinet minister Michael Gove - discussing their appearance.

A spokesman for the First Minister 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.

“Brexit may risk taking Britain back to the early 1970s but there is no need for coverage of events to lead the way.”

But Ms Vine said: “I think that people have maybe have had a slight sense of humour failure.”

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?”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “It's 2017. This sexism must be consigned to history. Shame on the Daily Mail,” while the party's former deputy leader Harriet Harman said it was “moronic”.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, on an official visit to Brussels, said it would only serve to put off girls and young women from entering politics.

He said: “What sort of message does that send to girls, young women, thinking about starting a career in politics if we are talking about their legs rather than their views on important matters?”

Amelia Womack, the Green Party's deputy leader, has submitted a formal complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) over the “Legs-it” headline, claiming it discriminated against the women because of their gender.