Arron Banks Chastised By Jess Phillips And Stella Creasy For 'Mansplaining' Sexual Harassment Etiquette

'From man who posed in gold lift shaking hand of man who boasted of grabbing women by the pussy.'
Arron Banks was schooled by Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy over his comments
Arron Banks was schooled by Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy over his comments
Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images

Former Ukip donor Arron Banks has come under fire from Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy after he attempted to ‘mansplain’ sexual harassment to a female journalist.

Banks, who ploughed more than a million pounds into the party before being suspended in March, caused a Twitter storm when he accused journalist Jane Merrick of “a lack of character” over the way she dealt with harassment from a politician.

The 51-year-old co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign took a swipe at Merrick, editor of The Spoon and a columnist for The Independent, after she claimed she had been forced to “smile and interview a senior Tory who previously lunged at me”.

Her statement came amid a wider debate about sexism in Hollywood, with Merrick defending Emma Thompson against claims the actress had condoned the behaviour of media mogul Harvey Weinstein.

@janemerrick23 everyone likes a good Hollywood party ! #luvvies pic.twitter.com/F0gEeY2LSU

— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) October 12, 2017

Reacting to a photo of the A-Listers together, Merrick explained: “It’s not that straight forward”.

But Banks hit back, explaining how she should have dealt with her harasser.

Arron Banks

In a spat that followed, the millionaire dismissed Merrick’s claims that speaking out about the incident could have damaged her career, saying: “When you confront people and speak the truth you always feel better.”

Arron Banks
Arron Banks

Banks’ comments sparked widespread controversy online, garnering biting criticism from Labour MP Jess Phillips.

“You are a privileged idiot who knows nothing about being silenced,” she wrote.

“Some of us fight with our guts, not our money.”

Jess Phillips

Her views were mirrored by fellow politician Stella Creasy:

Stella Creasy

Other writers, comedians and activists were also quick to slam Banks’ attempts at telling women his best practice tips.

“I feel better when men don’t sexually assault or harass women,” Strictly Come Dancing star Susan Calman wrote.

“Or patronise them. Or blame them.”

I know who lacks character: men who harass women and the men who excuse it by blaming women for not "confronting" them

— Claire Phipps (@Claire_Phipps) October 12, 2017

Just what @janemerrick23 and others need right now, a big dose of mansplaining 🙄 CC @jessphillips

— Mr Benn (@_SpecialBL) October 13, 2017

@janemerrick23 lovely company he keeps. He wants all women to shut up. pic.twitter.com/tSzNANBckU

— frances Barber (@francesbarber13) October 12, 2017

Thank heavens for all these men, telling us how we should handle sexual harassment. With their expertise everything now seems so simple!

— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) October 13, 2017

Re @janemerrick23's story, the one time I complained about being harassed at an old job, I was told to avoid post-work drinks.

— Dawn Foster (@DawnHFoster) October 13, 2017

men: why didn't you speak out
women: we are speaking out
men: we didn't mean like that pic.twitter.com/f29Nl7RqXN

— Matthew Champion (@matthewchampion) October 13, 2017

The row comes less than a year after Banks attempted to explain the fall of the Roman Empire to Cambridge University classicist Mary Beard based on his love of the Russell Crowe epic ‘Gladiator’.

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