‘Low life’ Gordon Ramsay attacked

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described Gordon Ramsay as "a new form of low life" after the foul-mouthed British celebrity chef insulted a well-known Aussie TV presenter, Tracy Grimshaw.

Ramsay was giving a cookery demonstration at a Melbourne food fair at the weekend when a picture of a naked woman with the features of a pig and multiple breasts was shown on a TV screen. "That's Tracy Grimshaw," he said. "I had an interview with her yesterday - holy crap."

When Australians reacted to the insult, Ramsay tried to pass it off as a "tongue-in-cheek joke". But Grimshaw used the next episode of her show, A Current Affair, to call him a bully and a narcisisist. "Truly, I wonder how many people would laugh if they were effectively described as an old, ugly pig," she said.

She then claimed that Ramsay had described her as a lesbian. "Obviously Gordon thinks that any woman who doesn't find him attractive must be gay. For the record, I don't and I'm not."

Prime Minister Rudd, asked about the row during a radio interview, said: "I think I can describe his remarks as reflecting a new form of low life. I just drew breath when I saw the sort of stuff which was said about her. I just think that's off and offensive."

Ramsay, whose international empire has been badly hit by the global economic downturn, was in Melbourne to check on the progress of his new restaurant at the Crown Casino. If some have their way, bookings will not be healthy.

Melinda Tankard Reist, of Women's Forum Australia, told the Herald Sun that Ramsay was "no longer welcome here". ·