David Cameron Tells Female Official: Calm Down, Dear

Brits are in a snit after an admonition by Prime Minister David Cameron to a top female official to "calm down, dear" during a public parliamentary session. Cameron made the comment to Angela Eagle, the "shadow" chief secretary to the Treasury from the opposition Labor Party, as she was challenging him. Eagle says Cameron has insulted 51% of the population with his "sexist" comment, reports the Telegraph. "I don't think any modern man would have expressed himself in that way," she added.

But a film director who created a popular car insurance ad using the "catch phrase" years ago has come to Cameron's defense, saying the comment has "become part of the nation's language," and it's a "totally harmless bit of fun," he added. "The prime minister has used it before, which shows he's in touch with the British public." Labor Party officials are calling on Cameron to apologize. (More Great Britain stories.)