The summoning by the UK Speaker of a newspaper editor has sparked a debate on free press, with journalists defending their right to report without interference and the Speaker being criticised for his attempt to muzzle the media.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hole announced he would call the editor and political editor of the Mail on Sunday after the publication of a story claiming Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner used her legs in Sharon Stone mode to distract Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

His move sparked a freedom of speech row and warnings that a Speaker should never be involved in deciding what the Press was allowed to print. David Dillon, who edits The Mail on Sunday, rejected the demand for a meeting, saying journalists should ‘not take instruction from officials of the House of Commons, however august they may be’.

The row erupted on Sunday after Conservative sources told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs Rayner tried to put Mr Johnson ‘off his stride’ at PMQs by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

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