Labour MP Alison McGovern accused of deliberately exposing cleavage as a 'strategy' to get attention during a Channel 4 debate

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A Labour MP said she didn’t know whether to “laugh or cry” after receiving a letter from a party supporter accusing her of showing her cleavage on television in order to attract attention.

Alison McGovern, the Labour MP for Wirral South, appeared on Channel 4 News alongside the Conservative MP Kwasi Kwarteng to discuss George Osborne’s budget surplus plan in June.

Shortly after her appearance, the Shadow City Minister received a letter from a party supporter who was perturbed by what they described as her “prominent cleavage” which they claimed she had deliberately exposed in order to attract attention as the Labour spokesperson.

The letter also suggested Ms McGovern had distracted male viewers from hearing what she way saying, adding: “I found this strategy - hardly accidental - for someone of your age and experience difficult to comprehend.”

Ms McGovern shared an image of the letter on Twitter on Sunday evening, where it was immediately met with ridicule, including from the former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who told her: "Hmm-been there, done that, taken the crap-sure you'll treat that with the contempt it deserves and keep up the fab work."

The Independent has contacted Ms McGovern for comment.