Given that Vivienne Westwood has today staged a fracking protest outside David Cameron’s constituency home, the Prime Minister ought to breathe a sigh of relief that he is safely far away in Leeds. Alas, any joy may be short-lived after he was accidentally recorded making a questionable comment about the people t’up north.
While preparing to give a speech on the economy, Cameron was given a microphone which would be turned on in time for his speech. Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, it was actually on while he rehearsed, and the BBC reports that he was heard appearing to make the following jibe about the people of Yorkshire:
‘We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn’t realise they hated each other so much.’
With Number 10 declining to comment on the context of the comment, the people of Yorkshire don’t appear to be overly amused. It seems Cameron is fast running out of safe places to go.
Update: Cameron has appeared on Radio 5 live’s Test Match Special to defend his comments. The PM insists it was meant as an innocent joke, though he had not planned to use the line in his speech.
Quotes:
‘I was picked up saying something which was not meant to be broadcast but it was a joke.
One of my aides had said to me that there were about five or six different bids from Yorkshire for devolution.
I joked saying that Yorkshiremen had it in for everyone else and not for each other or words to that effect which was a total joke, but it’s been picked up and I suspect I will be getting a bit of gyp from this.’
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