Theresa May’s speech was hit by a trio of disasters – kicked off when a serial prankster handed he a P45 while she was on stage
Theresa May today revealed that she thought she needed a ‘stiff drink’ when she finally finished her disastrous conference speech.
The Prime Minister’s moment in the spotlight turned into a nightmare when her speech was disrupted by a prankster who handed her a fake P45.
Things went from bad to worse after Mrs May was hit by a coughing fit and then letters which has been pinned up to the board behind her began dropping off.
Appearing on a live phone in show on LBC this afternoon, Mrs May revealed her husband Philip had been worried abut her as the prankster edged nearer to her on stage.
And she also took a swipe at plotters in her party – including the former Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps – who tried to force her from office earlier this week, saying she values loyalty.
She repeated her pledge to lead her party into the next election saying: ‘I am not a quitter.’
But she refused to say if she will sack Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary in a Cabinet reshuffle after his recent leadership maneuverings.
And she hinted that EU nationals living in Britain may not have the same rights they enjoy now if Britain leaves the bloc without a deal.
She told Iain Dale’s show: ‘I was giving that speech and I saw this person out of the corner of my eye – I had no idea what it was all about.
‘I had no idea who they were or what they were doing .’
The PM said that when she saw the shaky hand passing her a sheet of paper she briefly wondered if she was meant to stop.
‘But then I realised it was someone not official and I just carried on’ she said.
‘I know some people have questioned how it was possible for somebody to get so close to the Prime Minister but that didn’t go through my mind.’
And she recalled the moment her husband Philip rushed up on stage and enveloped her in a big hug after she finished her 65 minute speech
She said: ‘He was obviously feeling for me as anybody would in those circumstances.
‘He had been a bit worried about the individual approaching me, probably more so than I was up on the podium.
‘He gave me a really big hug and said well done.
‘I think I needed a stiff drink afterwards.’
The PM joked that she wished she had put ‘more cough sweets in her pocket’ before the speech.
Her comments came in the a live phone in on the radio show in which the PM was also quizzed about her government’s track record on increasing chances for ethnic minority communities.
It comes after the government released a groundbreaking racial disparity audit which collects data which assesses how ethnic minorities and white people are treated.
She was quizzed about Brexit, her plans for a Cabinet reshuffle and her one-time Cabinet colleague turned biggest critic George Osborne in the phone-in.
On Brexit, the PM refused to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in Britain if no deal is reached.
She said: ‘There are certain rights that pertain to somebody who is here in the UK by virtue of being an EU citizen.
‘Things like the benefits they are able to access in relation to their home country and in relation to here in the UK.
‘Some of those issues of course would fall away if there was a no deal because there wouldn’t be an agreement between us and the European Union about how those things would be looked at.
‘So we would have to look at those issues separately in a no deal scenario. That is why we are working on what we would look at in a no deal.
‘But my overall message is, I want EU citizens to stay here in the UK and I want to be able to guarantee people those rights and enable them to stay.’
‘We are not going to be throwing EU citizens who are currently here in the UK out in the future
And Mrs May – who backed Remain in last year’s referendum – remained tight-lipped about how she would vote if another Brexit vote was held today.
She said she cannot remember the last time she spoke to the former Chancellor George Osborne – who has launched a series of personal attacks on her and her premiership from the pages of the Evening Standard which he now edits.
Launching the race audit project in Downing Street today, the PM said Britain has a ‘way to go’ to create an equal society.
Theresa May was then hit by a nasty coughing fit during the speech which led her to have a frog in her throat for much of the speech
Parts of the conference set also started falling off behind the PM as her speech went from bad to worse
But she said that tackling ethnic injustice is a ‘personal priority’ for her while she is in Downing Street.
Data on how people of different races are treated in areas including health, education, employment and the criminal justice system have been laid bare on the newly-launched new Ethnicity Facts and Figures website.
Mrs May said much of the information ‘has existed for years’ but it had not been ‘looked at through this particular prism’.
The PM hailed the audit as a ‘world first’ but admitted the ‘findings will be uncomfortable’.
She told the meeting: ‘I think what this audit shows is there isn’t anywhere to hide. That’s not just for Government, it’s for society as a whole.’
Theresa May, pictured in Downing Street today for the launch of the race audit website. She said she is determined to crack down on disparities in how different communities are treated
‘Britain has come along way in promoting equality and opportunity but what the data we’ve published today shows is that we still have a way to go if we are going to truly have a country that works for everyone.’
The event was attended by a number of campaigners, including Jabeer Butt from the Race Equality Foundation, Omar Khan from the Runnymede Trust, Kunle Olulode from Voice4Change and Matilda MacAttram from Black Mental Health.
Mrs May told the group the findings will mean organisations will be challenged to ‘explain or change’.
‘It’s personal priority for me because I absolutely passionately believe that how far you go in life should be about your talents and your hard work and nothing else,’ she said.