Advertisement

'Shambolic': Boris Johnson skewered for bizarre moment during speech

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised over a bizarre press conference in which he made the noises of a car and made references to Peppa Pig.

Mr Johnson was speaking to the Confederation of British Industry in Port of Tyne, northern England on Monday (local time) about what he terms the green industrial revolution. He also said the job of government should sometimes be to "get out of your hair" and ensure less regulation and taxation.

It seemed to be going well but at one point, the PM began imitating a car making guttural “vroom-vroom” noises. His point was that electric vehicles may not make these noises that petrol heads love “but have so much torque”.

Boris Johnson speaks at the Confederation of British Industry in Port of Tyne, northern England.
Boris Johnson loses his place while speaking and shuffles his papers. Source: Confederation of British Industry

Unfortunately, Mr Johnson, then explained some of the policies when it further unravelled. He had a number of sheets of paper on the lectern and began looking through them as he lost his place.

“Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me,” he said as he shuffled through his papers for about 20 seconds.

Mr Johnson recovered but then went on to talk about technology "unicorns" and then a visit to Peppa Pig World, a park based on the children's animated TV show about an exuberant pink pig and her friends and family.

"Yesterday I went, as we all must, to Peppa Pig World," Mr Johnson told the business executives.

"I loved it. Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place: it has very safe streets, discipline in schools."

He was explaining how no government “could have conceivably come up with Peppa” and how the cartoon shows “the power of UK creativity” and illustrates “dynamism” and “originality” in the private sector.

Mr Johnson at one stage in his speech compared himself to Moses.

Needless to say some people were left confused over the bizarre presser.

'Crashed so spectacularly'

On Twitter, people criticised the PM.

“We deserve so much better than this,” one woman tweeted.

Another tweeted Mr Johnson “crashed so spectacularly”.

“It's not just scary, it's sad. Think he's found a job bigger than he can handle,” another woman tweeted.

After the press conference, a reporter asked the PM “is everything OK?”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Tharsus headquarters in Blyth, Northumberland, during the CBI annual conference.
The PM at Tharsus headquarters in Blyth, Northumberland, during the CBI annual conference. Source: AAP

Mr Johnson smiled and said he “thought it went over well” and he seemingly got his points across.

A government source told the BBC the press conference was “shambolic” and another told the broadcaster “there is a lot of concern”.

Although not everyone was unhappy after the PM’s address.

The owners of Peppa Pig World welcomed the fact Mr Johnson “spoke at length” about the park during the presser.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.