Have I Got News for You: Katherine Ryan on just how 'ridiculous' the tampon tax is

The government elected to continue taxing sanitary products at 5% earlier this week - deeming them a 'luxury item'

Katherine Ryan has been a frequent guest on Have I Got News for You (BBC, via screenshot)

A comedian has explained just how stupid the tampon tax is on the latest episode of Have I Got News for You.

Female comedian Katherine Ryan, making a guest appearance with Grayson Perry on the weekly show, expressed her disgust over the House of Common’s decision to maintain the five per cent tax on sanitary products, claiming they were a luxury item.

Ms Ryan, who lives in London but is originally from Canada, called the government’s decision “ridiculous”. Here’s a clip of Ms Ryan explaining just how ridiculous it is:

“It’s insane that this should be taxed,” she goes on to say. “It is dehumanising to call it a luxury item.”

She adds: “There are not a lot of period jokes for the same reason there are not a lot of leukaemia jokes. It’s just too sad.”

Despite opposition from Labour, independent and Liberal Democrat MPs, the government managed to defeat a bill to drop the VAT charge on sanitary products in the Commons this week.

The vote was met with dismay by campaigners, who point out items such as Jaffa Cakes are exempt from VAT as they are deemed “essential” rather than “luxury” items.