Conservative MP involved in “trousergate” row with PM May

London, December 14

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Conservative MP Nicky Morgan has pulled out of a planned appearance on TV show after a row over her criticism of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s expensive designer leather trousers.

British media on Wednesday reported that Morgan, a former education secretary, pulled out of Friday’s episode of BBC One’s hit satirical show ‘Have I Got News for You’ due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

The 44-year-old MP angered Downing Street by querying why the Prime Minister had spent 995 pounds on a pair of leather trousers.

The so-called “trousergate” row dominated several newspaper front pages, with a number of Conservative MPs having their say on the matter.

Morgan had been booked in September to appear on this week’s show, due to be hosted by Match of Day presenter Gary Lineker.

But Hat Trick Productions, which makes the long-running satirical show for BBC One, said she would no longer be taking part. No reason has been given.

Morgan, who was education secretary under May’s predecessor, David Cameron, appears to have annoyed Downing Street in recent days, the BBC reported.

After May was photographed for the Sunday Times in a pair of flared “bitter chocolate” leather trousers, Morgan said: “I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress.”

The Mail on Sunday then showed a tense series of text message exchanges between Morgan and the prime minister’s joint chief of staff, Fiona Hill.

In a speech yesterday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has been the subject of jokes by the prime minister, made light of the situation.

He joked of May - who went on a walking holiday in the Swiss Alps this summer: “Our wonderful Prime Minister actually wears lederhosen.”

Lederhosen are actually leather shorts, rather than long trousers, connected to the chest and shoulders via straps, and are traditionally worn in parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They were sported by the Von Trapp boys in the 1960s musical film The Sound of Music. — PTI