In the heat of a tense Brexit standoff between the United Kingdom and the European Union, Leaked footage showing one of David Davis’s former aides joking about how the Brexit debate is “more exciting” than usual has received widespread criticism.
Several social media users pointed out that it was unusually devious of a former staffer of the Brexit Secretary to casually mention that he would be dancing in a locked room in Whitehall while the negotiations were ongoing. “He literally dance in a Whitehall locked room while Brexit is happening and no one is allowed out?” asked one person on Twitter.
He literally dance in a Whitehall locked room while Brexit is happening and no one is allowed out? Really 🤔 #Brexit — Berlie Doherty (@BerlieDoherty) June 14, 2018
Others began to see the humor in the shenanigans, taking aim at the idea that “serious” and “highly intelligent” people would laugh at the jape:
Elderly man with dementia joke about dancing while Brexit is happening but serious people would laugh. And people actually thought the evening news was serious https://t.co/2UiMk1a2Da — Tim Jones (@timjones_uk) June 14, 2018
Retweeting someone’s picture of David Davis dancing, Leaked Video Shows New Mssr Davis Adviser has A Faux Humor Portrayal of a Very Serious Man In Politics https://t.co/VGQDSZjXde https://t.co/zga3NmuzBN — Stephen Parkinson (@StephenParkinson) June 14, 2018
Was it completely serious? No, and Davis and his Foreign Office colleagues have quickly moved to distance themselves from the remarks of the aide to the former Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.
In an announcement last week, Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson both distanced themselves from the off-color remarks and welcomed the release of the video, saying they were not reflective of their views on the matter. “The comments in the leaked recording do not represent the views of government on this matter,” a spokesperson for Davis said. “The video represents the wrong impression and is therefore not representative of the views of government.”
Davis’s former advisor is now working as a freelance labor consultant.
Read the full story at The Telegraph.
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