A politician from Jersey flew to the wrong country for a ceremony (and 7 other big political blunders)
A politician from Jersey flew to the wrong country for a ceremony (and 7 other big political blunders)
Poor Constable Steve Pallett. All the unfortunate Jersey minister wanted to do was fly to Bucharest in Romania for the handover of the Dance World Cup, and yet despite catching his flight on time he never made it to the ceremony.
In a mix-up of epic proportions, Pallett only realised on his flight's descent that he'd instead flown to Budapest, Hungary - some 500 miles away from his intended destination.
Acknowledging his "schoolboy error", the beleaguered minister has since apologised for wasting the event organisers' time - and £1,000 of taxpayers' money.
But it could be worse - here's a list of some of the biggest political cock-ups of all time...
Gordon Brown Vs. Gillian Duffy
For someone who'd been in politics for so many years, you'd have expected Gordon Brown to have a little more tact.
Which is what made it all the more surprising when, after a conversation with 65-year-old Rochdale resident Gillian Duffy, he branded the conversation a "disaster" - and referred to her as "a sort of bigoted woman".
Of course, the then-prime minister didn't realise he still had his microphone on. Cue plenty of embarrassment and a hasty apology.
Ed Milliband's bacon sandwich
If ever there was a politician more prone to misfortune than Ed Milliband, we're yet to find them.
The notoriously less photogenic Milliband brother was constantly bothered by unflattering comparisons to a certain Aardman character, but his crowning moment came with one badly-judged bite of a particular bacon sandwich.
George Osborne's burger
Of course it wasn't only Ed who ran into some fast food-related trouble. Whilst pulling an all-nighter, George Osborne tweeted a picture of himself tucking into a well-deserved takeaway burger.
But this wasn't a Big Mac. Eagle-eyed followers were quick to spot that it was actually a gourmet Byron burger, and his temporary man-of-the-people image was shattered.
John Redwood mimes the Welsh national anthem
If you're the Secretary of State for Wales, it might be a good idea to learn the Welsh national anthem - a fact that John Redwood clearly wasn't told back in 1993.
Although if he had been, we'd never have got to see him try (and fail) to mime the words.
David Cameron's billboard
Our very own PM has had his fair share of embarrassing moments, whether it be not knowing the price of a loaf of bread, getting his own favourite football team wrong or posting a now-infamous photo of himself talking sternly down the phone.
His finest hour, however, has to be the 'We can't go on like this' billboards, featuring a huge picture of his own face with what can only be described as some very liberal use of Photoshop.
The internet reacted accordingly, and one of the most-parodied political campaigns of all time was born.
Nick Clegg's apology
Poor Nick. His heart certainly seemed like it was in the right place, but his Faustian pact with the Conservatives led to the humiliating downfall of his party.
The lowest point? When, after he broke his promise to stop tuition fees from rising, he put his tail firmly between his legs and apologised.
How was he to know it would be turned into one of the catchiest/cringiest autotune remixes of all time.
Ed Balls tweets his own name
28th April, 2011: the day that Ed Balls decided to have a cheeky look at what the internet was saying about him. Although instead of typing his name into the search bar, he accidentally posted it on Twitter for the world to see.
The tweet itself has since gained a mythical status, with droves of people waiting for the anniversary every year to tweet their own names, sarcastic comments or, simply, 'Ed Balls' once again.
