A coalition of political journalists, advisers and politicians have signed a letter condemning sexist media coverage of the woman at the centre of the allegations about Boris Johnson’s private life.

The open letter said the treatment of Carrie Symonds, the former CCHQ director of communications, had been appalling and would discourage talented women from entering politics and the media.

It is signed by politicians including sports minister Tracey Crouch and fellow Tory MPs Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan, as well as Labour MP Stella Creasy.

Political advisers to sign include former Tory adviser Emma Barr, ex-Labour adviser and comedian Ayesha Hazarika, and Polly Mackenzie, the former Nick Clegg adviser who is now the director of Demos. It is also signed by journalists including Kate Maltby and Jane Merrick, who have written about their experiences of harassment in Westminster and been attacked in the tabloid press.

Symonds, who was previously an adviser to several cabinet minsters, has been linked to the former foreign secretary by several tabloid newspapers. Johnson and his wife, Marina Wheeler, have recently announced their divorce. Several newspapers have carried pictures of Symonds dressed in revealing clothing, taken from her Facebook page.

“We are a group of women with little in common; we have different professions, different political allegiances or none, we are of different ages and move in different social circles, but one thing unites us: we have had enough,” the letter, organised by the freelance journalist Marie Le Conte, said.



“We all work in or around politics, and have been disturbed and shocked to watch the way Carrie Symonds has been treated by the media.

“There was and is absolutely no need for newspapers and websites to trawl through a woman’s social media, repeatedly indulging in innuendo, and publishing dozens and dozens of pictures of her, all taken in her private life – with some dating from over 10 years ago.”

Women who signed the letter said some were close friends and former colleagues of Symonds, but others had never met her. “Still, we are united in thinking that the way she has been treated is appalling, and must never happen again,” the letter read.



“Being a woman in politics isn’t easy, and each of us has had to overcome a lot to get to where we are, and so has she,” it went on. “We are often treated in a way that men wouldn’t be, and this debacle is only the latest example of a political and media culture still steeped in misogyny.

“It is often asked why women are hesitant to get into political journalism, become MPs, or simply start a career in Westminster; incidents like this go some way towards explaining why.

“To the journalists and editors who have used a news story as an excuse to infringe on the personal life of a young woman and titillate their readers, and the people in Westminster who have helped them make this shameful coverage happen, we say: do better. Be better.”