IT takes a lot to get Lorraine Kelly’s goat. The relentlessly cheery Scottish broadcaster, the queen of daytime TV, is the nearest thing television has to Maria from the Sound of Music. Tune in any weekday and you will see a beaming Lolly on top of a mountain, spinning round, arms aloft to welcome the day. Honestly, the woman is so chipper she could make Snow White see red.

So when Lorraine, our Lorraine, takes to the public square of Twitter to ask “WTAF is this utter bilge?” it should ring alarm bells. Others, myself included, resorted to the phrase “What the actual flip” because small ears were present, but the feelings were the same.

The source of this ire? The now notorious story in the Mail on Sunday in which an anonymous Conservative MP claimed Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner was crossing and uncrossing her legs at Prime Minister’s Question Time to put Boris Johnson “off his stride”.

Condemnation was swift, fierce, and spanned almost the entire political spectrum. Not many things unite Scotland’s First Minister and Boris Johnson, but this steaming pile of misogyny, snobbery and sheer nastiness managed to do so.

With criticism from all sides and 5000 and counting complaints to IPSO, the independent press regulator, that should have been that, for the moment at least. Except the row rumbles on. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the Commons, thought the “misogynistic and offensive” story was so out of order he summoned the paper’s editor and reporter to a meeting that was to have taken place yesterday. Having first agreed to attend, the paper changed its mind. In editor David Dillon’s view, the Speaker’s actions were an attack on press freedom.

Thus what we thought was a clear cut case of misogyny being called out, with women leading the charge, has become a messy and unnecessary squabble over press freedom, one largely being conducted by men. Well done, boys. What would we do without you?

The inconvenient truth here is that both sides are right. The story should never have run. The fact that it made it on to the page should have the paper questioning its basic processes and editorial judgement.

Red flags fluttered everywhere, starting with the anonymity of the Tory MP quoted. If this was just a bit of light-hearted banter, a joke gone too far, as some tried to dismiss it, there would have been no need of anonymity. It was a pure, simple, nasty-as-they-come attempt to take down Ms Rayner, to put her in her place, a place others had picked out for her.

Equally, the Speaker was right to condemn the story for several reasons, not least that it would put women off entering politics if this was the sort of tripe they would have to put up with.

His disapproval was heartfelt, his support welcome. But demanding journalists come before him to explain themselves was a step too far, as was the call from one MP for the reporter concerned to be banned from parliament and thereby prevented from doing his job.

The idea that any MP, or anyone in a position of power, should be able to dictate what is reported in the media is so obviously wrong and detrimental to democracy that one marvels at even having to make the point.

The waters were muddied further yesterday with the Daily Mail reporting that Ms Rayner had laughed about the Basic Instinct comparison at the recording of a comedy podcast in January. The piece was headlined: “Angela’s Sharon Stone laughter”.

The Labour MP hit back, saying she called out the misogyny at the time. She added: “The Mail implies that I somehow enjoy being subjected to sexist slurs. I don’t. They are mortifying and deeply hurtful. ‘She loves it really’ is a typical excuse so many women are familiar with. But it can’t be women’s responsibility to call it out every time.”

What a shambles it must seem, particularly to young women thinking of a career in politics, be it as an elected representative, a policy advisor, journalist or any other associated trade. It would be a huge pity if they were put off by this.

In some ways we should be heartened by what has happened. That so many people were angered by the obvious unfairness of the piece and raised their voices in protest shows how far society has come. This is not the 1970s any more, thank goodness.

Then again, who are we kidding here? Sexism is so embedded in society, and flourishes so vigorously, that it will take generations to root it out.

Even here, however, there is cause to be optimistic. There has been a seismic change in how we now view the behaviour of the past. We call it what it was and is: abuse. There are more ways to highlight it than ever before, and a generation of women, and men, who are up for the fight.

Change is happening, not as fast or as much as we would like, but it is taking place. The Commons today, for all its failings towards women, is a vastly improved place from the days when I was there, for staff at any rate.

In those not so golden years, there was too much looking the other way, or not looking at all, at bad behaviour. While I did not experience it personally, I knew too many who did, and had their careers hindered or ruined as a result.

Today there is a new, independent complaints procedure for staff. Again, it takes far too long to resolve complaints, but the system is there.

There is another positive to come from recent events. It was an idea that the Speaker advanced but which has unfortunately been lost in all the subsequent shouting. Sir Lindsay said his intention at the meeting with the Mail on Sunday editor and reporter had been “to make a plea – nothing more – for the feelings of all MPs and their families to be considered, and the impact on their safety, when articles are written. I would just ask that we are all a little kinder.”

Be a little kinder. It sounds so easy, so why does kindness seem in ever shorter supply? We seem to mistake it for weakness, or worse, “wokeness”, that slur thrown around by those who fancy themselves to be plain speakers and truth tellers.

We know from experience what a lack of kindness does to a society. It is not too late to try a different way. What’s the worst that could happen?