Theresa May’s keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester has been interrupted by comedian Lee Nelson, who handed her a sheet of paper marked P45.
Nelson, real name Simon Brodkin, was led away by security officials, and the Prime Minister recovered to say: “I was about to talk about somebody who I would like to give a P45 to, and that’s Jeremy Corbyn.”
The incident happened just moments after Mrs May apologised to her party for her performance in the botched campaign for this year’s snap election.
She admitted the campaign was “too scripted, too presidential” and said she took responsibility for its shortcomings.
After calling an election three years early in the hope of increasing her dominance in the House of Commons, Mrs May lost 13 MPs and forfeited her majority, forcing her into a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.
Comedian Simon Brodkin confronts the PM (Owen Humphreys/PA)
She won long applause from party delegates as she said: “We did not get the victory we wanted because our national campaign fell short.
“It was too scripted. Too presidential.
“And it allowed the Labour Party to paint us as the voice of continuity when the public wanted to hear a message of change.
“I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign. And I am sorry.”
Nelson has a track record of pulling off similar stunts. He once threw a pile of dollars at the then Fifa president Sepp Blatter during a press conference.
Mrs May’s speech was also interrupted by fits of coughing, which she laughed off.