Jennifer Lawrence has hit out at feminist campaigners who criticised her for wearing a revealing dress in the cold London air, calling them "ridiculous".

The actress defended her right to wear a skimpy Versace dress during a promotional event for the film Red Sparrow earlier this week.

While Lawrence wore the strappy gown, which featured a thigh-high split, male co-stars Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts and director Francis Lawrence were all in multiple layers of clothing, and many pointed out the contrast.

Writer Helen Lewis attracted thousands of retweets when she wrote: "This is such a quietly depressing (and revealing) image. Not least because I've been outside today and it's b----- FREEZING."

Peep Show's Robert Webb tweeted: "To all those saying JL ‘chose’ to wear that dress: fine but that choice has a context. She could have made a different decision but we can agree on one thing: it’s not a decision to which the blokes had to give the slightest thought."