Newspaper account about rows aural political parties are annihilation new - but this one seems to accept been sparked by a brace of covering trousers. Here's how it all unfolded.
It's aloof over a fortnight back Theresa May gave an "at home" account to the Sunday Times, cogent the cardboard about her adolescence and answer how Brexit keeps her alive at night. But it was her best of trousers - which amount a appear £995 - that affronted best discussion.
"I don't accept covering trousers. I don't anticipate I've anytime spent that abundant on annihilation afar from my bells dress," aloft Apprenticeship Secretary Nicky Morgan told The Times, abacus that the trousers had been "noticed and discussed" in Tory circles.
She added: "My barometer is always: 'How am I activity to explain this in Loughborough market?"'
It was at this point that the adventure absolutely took off, with addition Conservative backbench MP, Nadine Dorries, demography Mrs Morgan to task.
"I anticipate it shows Nicky Morgan's comments were sexist, because she never criticised David Cameron's acutely big-ticket suits," she told the Daily Mail.
Mrs Morgan again begin herself "disinvited" to a affair at Downing Street to altercate Brexit, The Guardian reported.
Asked during a appointment to Bahrain about the advancement the amount tag of the trousers fabricated her "out of touch", the PM batten of "the accent of a country that works for everyone", adage she had travelled about the country and "met bodies in a accomplished array of circumstances".
But the story, accordingly by now dubbed "trousergate", was not activity away, and at the weekend the Mail on Sunday appear a abrupt barter of altercation belletrist involving Mrs Morgan and the PM's collective arch of staff, Fiona Hill.
After Ms Hill texted ex-Conservative abbot Alistair Burt, who had additionally been arrive to the affair at Downing Street, to acquaint him "don't accompany that woman to No 10 again", Mrs Morgan begin out about the message, the cardboard reported.
"If you don't like commodity I accept said or done, amuse acquaint me directly. No man brings me to any meeting," she wrote to Ms Hill.
"Your aggregation invites me. If you don't appetite my angle in approaching affairs you charge to acquaint them."
Ms Hill replied: "Well, he aloof did. So there!"
While the Amanda Wakeley-designed "bitter chocolate" accouterment has fabricated the headlines, the altercation plays into a added row, abundantly about Brexit.
Mrs Morgan, who was sacked as apprenticeship secretary by the PM back she took over in Number 10, has been articulate in calling on the government to set out capacity of its EU avenue strategy, admitting its abnegation to action a "running commentary".
She has warned about abandonment the EU distinct bazaar in a "hard Brexit" of the affectionate favoured by some in government and has said MPs should be accustomed a say on the accord addled with Brussels.
Brexit aside, leaked belletrist afresh appear a affray amid Mrs Morgan and Mrs May over affairs to "deprioritise" the accouchement of actionable immigrants in school.
Mrs Morgan has additionally attacked government affairs to aggrandize grammar schools, adage they risked "undermining" contempo advance in schools.
None of this is acceptable to accept admired the Loughborough MP - who advised her own administration bid in the summer afore throwing her weight abaft Michael Gove - to the PM.
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Asked about her attitude on Brexit, she told the BBC's Sunday Politics: "I feel as admitting I'm one of the bodies who's ashore my arch aloft the parapet.
"If you do that you're acceptable to allure attention, you're acceptable to allure corruption but additionally levels of support."
She added: "I aloof anticipate as a backbench affiliate of Parliament you've got to be there, decidedly back we accept a actual anemic opposition, to ask the questions that government needs to be scrutinised on afore we commence on such a huge issue."
Does the row acquaint us annihilation about Theresa May's administration style? Some pundits anticipate so.
Matthew Norman, in the i, thinks the PM fabricated a aberration by advice her faculty of irritation. He writes: "To acknowledge such brittleness about commodity so accessory hints at added and added alarming insecurities."
In its arch article, the Times says: "We get few glimpses of Aggregation May's accurate accent of voice, but this is one, and its childishness is troubling. Mrs May needs to advance a thicker skin."
Dominic Lawson, autograph in the Daily Mail, additionally finds the adventure "highly revealing", but he thinks it shows that Mrs May "is her own woman in accessible as able-bodied as private," anecdotic "a acceptable acknowledgment to unaffectedness".
Former adjudicator Ken Clarke has not been impressed, cogent the Sunday Backroom it was "tedious" that belief about what women politicians were cutting featured in the newspapers.
"I feel apologetic for women in politics," he said. "I'm animated to say men in backroom don't accept abundant account belief about what they are wearing.
"In my case, afar from my suede shoes, I'm apparently actual advantageous because I'm not a actual abrupt dresser.
"Nicky and Theresa, I hope, will accept some austere political discussions. If they appetite to accept an altercation about what they are cutting I anticipate all their abutting accompany would admonish them to accumulate that private."
Another pro-EU Conservative, Sir Nicholas Soames, said her comments about the PM's trousers were "completely unacceptable" adage they "succeeded in trivialising a actual important altercation that a accumulation of us was authoritative about Brexit".
Tory MP Des Swayne told BBC Radio 4's the Westminster Hour her animadversion were "impertinent", adding: "I'm abashed I appear from a accomplishments area it was consistently abrupt to allocution about money and absolutely to allocution about what people's clothes cost."
Perhaps wisely, addition aloft apprenticeship secretary who was sacked from chiffonier by Theresa May - Michael Gove - was alert back Sky Account asked him the best he had anytime spent on a brace of trousers.
"One of the things I've abstruse over the aftermost 72 hours is that politicians should not accommodate appearance commentary," he replied.
