I don’t recognise that.”Ĭaroline Nokes, the Tory former minister who chairs the women and equalities committee, said Kwarteng’s view went against the testimony of numerous MPs. Speaking later to Times Radio, he said the problem was “some bad apples”, who should be punished, adding: “But that doesn’t mean that the entire culture is extremely misogynistic or full of male entitlement. “I think the problem we have is that people are working in a really intense environment, there are long hours and I think generally, most people know their limits.” “I don’t think there’s a culture of misogyny,” he told Sky News. Kwarteng, the business secretary, faced significant criticism after rejecting the idea of inherent sexism in parliament, arguing that problems were mainly caused by long hours and overwork, and that very few MPs transgressed. Labour warned that a toxic culture in Westminster was exacerbated by inaction from Downing Street, while its deputy leader, Angela Rayner, wrote to Boris Johnson about reports that one No 10 Christmas party saw a ‘sexist of the year’ award handed out.
