WATCH: John Bercow tears into Boris Johnson over 'inappropriate and sexist' comment to Emily Thornberry

Answering a question about Brexit at Foreign Office questions this morning, Mr Johnson referred to the shadow foreign secretary as “the noble and learned lady the Baroness, I cannot remember whatever it is…Nugee" - a reference to her husband, High Court judge Sir Christopher Nugee. 

That prompted a lengthy interjection from the Speaker of the Commons, who was applauded by MPs as he took Mr Johnson to task.

“I don’t want to be unkind or discourteous to the Foreign Secretary… but I say to him two things," Mr Bercow said.

“First of all, we don’t name call in this chamber... Secondly, we do not address people by the titles of their spouses.

"The shadow foreign secretary has a name and it’s not ‘Lady something’, we know what her name is and it is inappropriate and, frankly, sexist to speak in those terms and I’m not having it in this chamber. That is the end of the matter, no matter how senior a member, that parlance is not legitimate, it will not be allowed and it will be called out."

He also took aim at "chuntering" Conservative MPs, adding: "I’ve said what the position is and believe me, that is the end of the matter, I hope I’ve made the position extremely clear to people who are not well-informed about such matters."

Mr Johnson is not the first senior Tory to refer to Ms Thornberry by her husband's name.

In February of last year, the Islington South MP complained to the Speaker after Theresa May referred to her as "Lady Nugee" during a debate on Brexit.

In April 2016, David Cameron also attacked Ms Thornberry with a quip about "Lady Nugee giving us the benefit of her wisdom". 

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