Paris Lees, bestselling author of ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’, has failed in her bid for city status, as confirmed by The Cabinet Office earlier today. While declining to comment specifically on Ms Lees’s case, officials noted that city status is not an “automatic right” given to anyone who fulfils set criteria, as this would “devalue the honour”.

Online reaction was mixed, with many decrying the rejection as an act of prejudice, while others hailed the government’s decision as a victory for common sense.

Twitter user Metropolitan Wimpund cited Lees’s British heritage in endorsing The Cabinet Office’s ruling.

Meanwhile, outspoken feminist campaigner Venice Allan was quick to highlight her birth status in opposition to Paris’s bid for equal recognition.

Novelist David Long, however, was keen to point out the fluidity of meaning, alluding to the reign of Henry VIII as the archaic origin of the association between having a cathedral and the right to be called a city.

Opium Tea attempted to contact Ms Lees for comment, but was redirected to a voicemail apology for her current unavailability, owing to “an overwhelming amount” of fan contact and support in the wake of her hugely successful memoir.