Andrea Leadsom apologises 'by text' to Theresa May over motherhood remarks

Andrea Leadsom appeared outside her home to respond to the motherhood row at the weekend
Chris Radburn/PA Wire
Hatty Collier11 July 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Andrea Leadsom has apologised to Theresa May over comments she made suggesting that being a mother gave her more of a stake in the future than her Tory leadership rival.

The energy minister apologised for “any hurt caused” and insisted that she did not want motherhood to play a part in the race to become the next Prime Minister.

Mrs Leadsom said she had felt "under attack" since the row over her comments, which were branded "vile" by one senior Tory MP while a fellow minister said it showed she was unsuitable for Number 10.

The apology was made over text message, The Times reported.

When asked, during an interview with the Telegraph, if she had apologised to the Home Secretary, who does not have children, she said: “I've already said to Theresa how very sorry I am for any hurt I have caused and how that article said completely the opposite of what I said and believe."

Mrs Leadsom told the newspaper she believed that having children has "no bearing on the ability to be PM".

"I absolutely said, what I specifically said, is that motherhood should not play a part in the campaign," she said.

"I was pressed to say how my children had formed my views. I didn't want it to be used as an issue. Having children has no bearing on the ability to be PM. I deeply regret that anyone has got the impression that I think otherwise."

The motherhood row erupted after The Times published an interview with Mrs Leadsom over the weekend, in which she said: "Genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake."

Mrs May has previously spoken about how she and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children.

In the wake of her Times interview, business minister Anna Soubry said Mrs Leadsom's comments meant she was "not PM material" while Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said there was a "gulf in class" between the two candidates and senior MP Sir Alan Duncan said the energy minister's remarks were "vile".

Former cabinet minister Eric Pickles, who is backing Mrs May, told Sky News Mrs Leadsom had had what could “charitably be described as a disastrous start to her campaign”.

He said: ““She gave a bad interview, her first major interview with a very serious journalist and she fluffed it, she messed it up and to make it worse, she then accused that very senior journalist of engaging in gutter politics.”

But Mrs Leadsom's key supporter Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, claimed she is facing a "black-ops" campaign by MPs who want to "denigrate her reputation".

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in