Ian Hislop, with his fellow captain Paul Merton, said female politicians were more reticent to appear on the programme

The banter on Have I Got News For You is too vicious for female guests, Nadine Dorries said yesterday.

The Tory MP, who has declined all invitations to be a guest on the BBC comedy panel show since her appearance in 2012, was responding to comments by Ian Hislop, one of the team captains, who said that female politicians were “more reticent and think, maybe modestly, ‘I can’t do that.’ ”

Ms Dorries, who has appeared on I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here, said: “I just don’t think Have I Got News For You is a programme which lends itself to women feeling comfortable. I find it too vicious. I know people like that. That’s why they love the