Today Chris Bryant has been the cause of much laughter in the Commons thanks to a joke about George Osborne and Coke. Discussing the Chancellor’s new sugar tax, Bryant said that he was glad Osborne had come round to the dangers of coke:
‘I’m delighted that finally the chancellor has realised the dangers of coke.’
Bryant appeared to be referencing claims — which Osborne denies — surrounding his alleged friendship in the nineties with Natalie Rowe, the former dominatrix. Happily Rowe seemed amused by the joke:
The Coke Jibes are just NEVER going to go away Chuck, 😂 @George_Osborne
— Natalie Rowe (@RealNatalieRowe) March 17, 2016
Still, not everyone appears to see the funny side. The Financial Times’ Jim Pickard reports that Bryant tried to get Jeremy Corbyn to use the joke yesterday:
Bryant tried to get Corbyn to use that joke yesterday but the Labour leader replaced "coke" with "cola".
— Jim Pickard 🐋 (@PickardJE) March 17, 2016
If so, that may have been for the best.

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