BORIS Johnson has promised that whoever is responsible for "perverted"  comments about Angela Rayner will face the “terrors of the earth.”

A report in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday claimed the Labour's deputy leader was deliberately trying to distract the Prime Minister in the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

The newspaper branded it a “Basic Instinct ploy”.

One anonymous Conservative party source told the paper: "She knows she can't compete with Boris's Oxford Union debating training, but she has other skills which he lacks."

Speaking today during a visit to Bury FC, Mr Johnson said that the story was “the most appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe.”

He told press: "I immediately got in touch with Angela and we had a very friendly exchange.

"If we ever find who is responsible for it, I don't know what we will do, but they will be the terrors of the earth.

"It's totally intolerable, that kind of thing."

The Prime Minister was referencing Shakespeare’s King Lear when the titular monarch complains about the disloyalty of his daughters. 

Meanwhile, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons has summoned the editor of the Mail on Sunday, David Dillon, to a meeting to discuss the article. 

READ MORE: Women in politics still face culture of 'extreme misogyny'

He told MPs: "I said to the house last week, in response to a point of order about a different article, that I took the issue of media freedom very seriously. It is one of the building blocks of our democracy.

"However, I share the views expressed by a wide range of members, including, I believe, the Prime Minister, that yesterday’s article was reporting unsubstantial claims [that were] misogynistic and offensive."

He added: "This type of comment, in being demeaning, offensive to women in parliament, it can only deter women who might consider standing for election to the detriment of us all.

"That is why I have arranged a meeting with the chair of the press lobby [and] the editor of the Mail on Sunday to discuss the issue affecting our parliamentary community."

In response to the original story, Ms Rayner said: “Women in politics face sexism and misogyny every day - and I’m no different. This morning’s is the latest dose of gutter journalism.

“I stand accused of a ‘ploy’ to ‘distract’ the helpless PM - by being a woman, having legs and wearing clothes. I am conspiring to ‘put him off his stride’. The rest I won’t repeat - but you get the picture.

“Boris Johnson’s cheerleaders have resorted to spreading desperate, perverted smears in their doomed attempts to save his skin. They know exactly what they are doing. The lies they are telling.”

Ms Rayner added: “The potted biography is given - my comprehensive education, my experience as a care worker, my family, my class, my background. The implication is clear.

“But it is the PM who is dragging the Conservative Party into the sewer - and the anonymous Tory MPs doing his bidding are complicit.

“He and his cheerleaders clearly have a big problem with women in public life. They should be ashamed of themselves.

“I won’t be letting their vile lies deter me. Their attempts to harass and intimidate me will fail.

“I’ve been open about how I’ve had to struggle to get where I am today. I’m proud of my background, I’m proud of who I am and where I’m from - but it’s taken time.

“I hope this experience doesn’t put off a single person like me, with a background like mine from aspiring to participate in public life. That would break my heart.

“We need more people in politics with backgrounds like mine - and fewer as a hobby to help their mates.”