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June 8, 2011

Commons Speaker John Bercow brands Daily Mail ‘sexist’ and ‘racist’

By Sam Brodbeck

The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has sparked controversy after calling the Daily Mail “sexist” and “racist”.

Bercow, who is a Conservative MP but as Speaker must remain impartial, said the newspaper was a ‘sexist, racist, bigoted, comic cartoon strip’and joked that calling the Mail a newspaper was breaking the trade descriptions act, reported The Guardian.

He made the comments at a question and answer session with political commentator Steve Richards at Kings Place in London.

The Speaker also answered questions about super-injunctions, saying ‘it would be very sad if the sovereign nature of Parliament as a whole and the House of Commons in particular was eroded by the judiciary”.

Before Bercow’s election to Speaker in 2009 the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts wrote an article titled “God help us (and our pathetic MPs) if this shameless, bumptious, expenses-fiddling greaser becomes Speaker.”


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