Liz Kendall tells Mail on Sunday journalist to 'f*** off' after she was asked how much she weighed

Liz Kendall told a Mail on Sunday journalist to "f*** off" when she was asked how much she weighed during an interview.

The Labour leadership contender said the question was "unbelievable" as she questioned whether a male politician would be asked about their weight.

The Leicester West MP said she "cannot wait for a world when women are judged the same as men".

In the much-criticised article, journalist Simon Walters wrote: "In fact she looks the same weight as the Duchess – about 8st – though when I ask she slaps me down with a raucous ‘f*** off!’, adding quickly: ‘Don’t print that.’"

The article also says that Ms Kendall maintains her "lithe figure" by jogging 20 miles a week.

Reacting to the piece, Ms Kendall told BuzzFeed during a BBC Radio 5 Live segment:

Ms Kendall is up against Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn in the race to succeed Ed Miliband.

Social media users were equally as critical of the article, accusing the Mail of sexism.

She is not the first MP to hit out at the media's treatment of female politicians.

Earlier this month, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan was left distinctly unimpressed when a photographer shouted "Morning girls", as she left Downing Street with a fellow Cabinet minister.