Tory leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom has furiously denied telling The Times she has an edge over her rival Theresa May, because she has children.

The Energy Minister sparked a furious backlash after she said while Mrs May "possibly has nieces, nephews", she had children which gave her "a very real stake" in Britain's future prosperity.

Mrs May responded by urging her Tory leadership rival to back her "clean campaign pledge" after the newspaper report suggested Mrs Leadsom was using her status as a mother to give her an advantage.

Yesterday, I launched my clean campaign pledge, and invite @AndreaLeadsom to join me in signing it -TM pic.twitter.com/jaC3hP34N4 — Theresa May (@TheresaMay2016) July 9, 2016

But speaking outside her Northamptonshire home, Mrs Leadsom, who has demanded a retraction by the newspaper, insisted: "Iwho are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next."

The interview comes just days after Mrs May spoke for the first time about the sadness she and her husband Phillip felt when they discovered they could not have children.

Leadsom And May: Who Are They?

The two women are going head-to-head to win the Conservative leadership race and become the next Prime Minister.

Prior to the interview, Mrs May had issued a statement imploring her opponent to a fight a clean campaign and stay within the "acceptable limits" of political debate, following the bitter EU referendum campaign.

Following Saturday's report, Mrs May tweeted: "Yesterday, I launched my clean campaign pledge, and invite @AndreaLeadsom to join me in signing it -TM"

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston wrote on Twitter