Labour's Emily Thornberry: 'I've been a gay icon'

Icon: Emily Thornberry speaks at the Evening Standard's election hustings on Tuesday evening
NIGEL HOWARD ©
Joanna Bell8 June 2017
WEST END FINAL

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Labour’s shadow foreign secretary has revealed she believes she is a gay icon.

Frontbencher Emily Thornberry, who is standing for re-election in Islington, said she has a “big lesbian following too” when compared to Ruth Davidson, the openly gay leader of the Scottish Tories.

After the Evening Standard’s election hustings on Tuesday, she told the Londoner’s Diary: “I was told by my brother, who has a large restaurant, that a big group of lesbians were sitting at a big table and they said to him ‘Oh, so you’re gay: is Emily?’”

Ms Thornberry, who has three children and is married to barrister Sir Christopher Nugee, said: “I’ve been a gay icon a number of times, especially when I spun the decks at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.”

She then added that she believed to become a gay icon “you’ve got to be bolshie”.

Ms Thornberry took part in the testy debate at Westminster’s Church Hall after Diane Abbott pulled out at the last-minute citing illness.

She clashed with Conservative Greg Hands in the 90-minute showdown over claims Jeremy Corbyn was an extremist who would put Londoners at risk.

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