On Saturday afternoon, Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds released a charming picture of their baby son, Wilfred – the first publicly released picture of the child since he was born in April. The PM and his partner were on a Zoom call in Number 10 to thank the midwives of University College Hospital for delivering their son.
Most people looking at the picture simply viewed it as a heart-warming snap of a baby born in difficult circumstances, when both of his parents were recovering from illness. Others may have spotted that baby Wilfred has inherited his father’s blond mop, and already seems to have grown a full head of hair.
For a minority of Remain supporters though, the picture symbolised something else entirely: a conspiracy. Shortly after the picture was first revealed, several high-profile supporters of the Remain ‘FBPE’ hashtag began to argue that the baby was too large for its age, had too much hair, and that the entire picture might have been photoshopped. One intrepid detective even suggested that the infant might be a ‘substitute child’.
Exactly why Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds would try and procure a different child for a fake baby picture was beyond the imagination of Mr Steerpike.
For the Independent though, this was an avenue worth exploring. In an online piece on Indy100, headlined ‘Boris Johnson mocked for first picture with his son during Zoom meeting’, the publication mused that the picture’s release could have been an attempt to derail a report into Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.
The Indy went on to observe that:
‘Others were even more cynical, and doubted whether the baby in the picture was even real, mostly due lots of parents reporting he looks larger than average for his age’
The piece, written by the editor of Indy100, ended by promising to get back to readers ‘if a clear answer ever emerges’. Considering that the article has now been deleted, Mr S wonders if there was perhaps a very obvious answer to this all along…
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