‘This has Glenn and Terri written all over it!’: The Thick of It fans go wild as Boris Johnson’s aide hands PM plastic coffee cup only for colleague to snatch it away like a scene from BBC comedy
- Boris Johnson was handed cup of coffee by aide this morning after TV interviews
- But drink was in a disposable cup so another aide snatched it away from the PM
- The Thick of It compared the advisers to show’s bungling duo Terri and Glenn
The Thick of It fans went wild today as Boris Johnson’s aide was filmed handing the Prime Minister a coffee cup only for a colleague to snatch it away like a scene from the classic BBC comedy.
The awkward exchange at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester sparked off a stream of amusing tweets, with one comedy buff writing: ‘I know everything is like The Thick of It these days, but this has Glenn and Terri written all over it.’
The quip was a reference to special adviser Glenn Cullen and civil servant Teresa Jessica ‘Terri’ Coverley, who bicker constantly during the show and repeatedly bungle basic tasks.
Mr Johnson later made light of the incident on Twitter, posting a photo of himself with a mug alongside the caption: ‘I got my coffee in the end.’
The Thick Of It fans were in hysterics today after two of Boris Johnson’s aides were likened to Terri and Glen from the hit TV show (pictured)
Boris Johnson later made light of the incident at today’s Tory party conference on Twitter, posting a photo of himself with a mug alongside the caption: ‘I got my coffee in the end’
The awkward exchange at the conference in Manchester sparked off a stream of amusing tweets
The incident began when Mr Johnson, apparently parched after taking part in a series of broadcast interviews this morning, was given the hot drink by his press secretary Rob Oxley.
The Prime Minister could be heard thanking Mr Oxley for the beverage as they walked through the conference centre in Manchester.
But the cup was barely in Mr Johnson’s hands before Shelley Williams-Walker, Number 10’s operations chief, snatched it away from the PM.
The trio continued to walk as a seemingly puzzled Mr Johnson raised his hands in the air, apparently in bemusement at what had just happened.
Ms Williams-Walker reportedly said ‘no disposable cups’ after she took the drink away from the premier as she then proceeded to try to get it out of the shot of the TV cameras.
Mr Oxley appeared to look sheepish in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Mr Johnson is not the first Cabinet minister to have got into hot water over disposable coffee cups in light of the Conservative’s new emphasis on green issues.
Michael Gove, who in his previous role as environment secretary had led the charge against single-use plastics, was criticised last year for drinking from a disposable cup during an appearance in front of a select committee.
Disposable coffee cups have become a symbol of everything that is wrong with the UK’s so-called ‘throw-away society’.
The PM’s press secretary Rob Oxley handed Boris Johnson a coffee in a disposable cup as they walked through the conference centre in Manchester today
But Number 10’s operations chief Shelley Williams-Walker was quick to spot the potential for bad press as she snatched the cup away from the premier, apparently in a bid to protect his green credentials
Ms Williams-Walker reportedly told Mr Oxley ‘no disposable cups’ as a bemused Mr Johnson looked on
The last government rejected calls to impose a ‘latte levy’ to persuade people to use their own re-usable cups when buying take-away coffee.
But numerous coffee shop chains have introduced their own charges which people must pay if they fail to provide their own receptacle for their drink.
Mr Johnson has been on a mission to continue bolstering the Tories’ environmental credentials since he took office in July.
His most recent pledge saw the government promise to introduce the toughest trophy hunting rules in the world.