Jacob Rees-Mogg was once again asked about that viral photo of him almost lying down on the front benches in the House of Commons on Monday – and he responded with a particularly strange defence.
Rees-Mogg, who was minister for Brexit opportunities for a spell last year before quitting when Rishi Sunak came to power, is now promoting his new show on GB News.
He will be a presenter on the right-wing news channel while juggling his ongoing career as an MP.
But, appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid couldn’t help but bring up arguably one of his most well-known moments.
Back in September 2019, Rees-Mogg was pictured lounging along the Tory frontbench in the Commons during a debate about the finer details of the Brexit deal, with his eyes closed in most photos.
He was absolutely torn apart for it and turned into a timeless meme.
When Reid put it to him that he had been described as “disrespectful”, he replied: “It was completely traditional.
“The only mistake I made was that it was traditional before TV cameras were brought into the House of Commons.
“But if you look at all the drawings of early 20th Century front benches, they’re all lounging like that.
“I was just following their tradition but probably mistakenly so – not all traditions should be preserved permanently.”
The keen Brexiteer said that it had been during a debate about the EU, and he had been listening to “all the fanatical Remainers droning on”.
“There was a very good excuse for lying down on that basis, the speeches were of a stunning boringness,” he claimed.
Rees-Mogg also took the opportunity to heap praise on Boris Johnson for getting his Brexit deal over the line shortly afterwards.
The moment was particularly appropriate this week as Sunak is set to agree a new-look Northern Ireland Protocol, a particularly tough sticking point within the UK-EU’s Brexit deal.
Rees-Mogg then started reading out details from the very deal itself, prompting both Balls and Reid to adopt positions very similar to his own famous slump.
Days after the image went viral, Rees-Mogg did also admit at a Daily Telegraph event that “in hindsight” it was probably “not” acceptable behaviour.