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Guto Harri tries to cheer up Johnson with Welsh rugby comparison after Jubilee booing

05 Jun 2022 3 minute read
Boris Johnson. Picture by Cancillería Argentina (CC BY 2.0). Guto Harri. Photo GB News.

Boris Johnson’s Head of Communications Guto Harri attempted to cheer up his boss after he was booed as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebration by comparing the crowd to English and Welsh rugby fans.

The Prime Minister and wife Carrie Johnson were greeted by a loud chorus of boos as they arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral for a service as part of the Platinum Jubilee, with more booing heard as they left.

But according to Tim Shipman, the Times’ Chief Political Commentator, former S4C presenter Guto Harri told his boss that the cries of “Boris! Boris!” were “like the English rugby crowd singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and the boos equivalent to a Welsh crowd “responding with You Can Shove Your F***ing Chariot Up Your Arse”.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries had earlier been widely mocked after suggesting that the media had exaggerated the scale of jeers faced by the Prime Minister for the sake of sensational headlines.

In a tweet on Friday evening, she said: “There were far, far more cheers, but that doesn’t make a good headline does it?”

Her claim was contradicted by ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship, who was present outside the cathedral and said the booing was “very loud indeed”.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, today said that “politicians don’t expect to be popular all the time” and people are “over-interpreting” the boos directed at Boris Johnson.

“There were also people cheering and you’re not asking me why they did that,” he told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.

‘Worried’

Political commentator Daniel Finkelstein however warned the Prime Minister not to ignore the booing.

“Who, after all, stands outside St Paul’s for hours to watch members of the royal family attend a jubilee thanksgiving service?” he asked.

“Primarily people who respect tradition, enjoy pageantry, feel positive about British institutions and want to witness a moment of history.

“A Conservative prime minister should be worried about being booed by people like that.”

Yesterday the BBC denied toning down the booing when the footage was broadcast later, saying that it was just the result of the sound coming from a different microphone.

“The BBC did not change or edit the sound on any of its recordings yesterday and its coverage clearly demonstrated the crowd’s reaction to the Prime Minister’s arrival,” they said.

“As is standard for an event of this nature, there were a number of different crews filming. Jane Hill was filmed commentating live on the arrivals at the service and the crowd’s reaction.

“Other BBC coverage used a ‘clean feed’ of the arrivals, that is, sound and pictures from a different crew which did not have commentary on top.”


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Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
1 year ago

Sickening as it is, you can’t fault the unwavering consistency of pathetic excuses by what seems like a never ending queue of Johnson’s’ cabinet members who simply trot alongside him like faithful dogs no matter what he says or does or wherever he goes which this coming week could be OUT on the sharp end of a no confidence vote. I trust his deluded followers will remain consistent and continue to follow him …. OUT!

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  Fi yn unig

Yes they are shameless in their attempts to spin the obvious reality into the exact opposite thing time and time again. It may be why the bluddy obvious seems consistently startling to them. Do they actually believe their own lies?

Hogyn y Gogledd
Hogyn y Gogledd
1 year ago

I think Finkelstein is correct.

The crowd, by the very fact of being there, was a right-wing, monarchy-loving group.

They booed the prime minister.

No more to be said.

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
1 year ago

“over-interpreting”. Don’cha love that?

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
1 year ago

Tory policies will remain with or without Mr Johnson. Most western people wrongly think that actions are taken by one person alone. What I get from the “parties” was that he “popped in and out” from time to time. Is that a true picture? If so, he is guilty of too liberal an attitude to the hangers on. Anyway, we have problems galore in Cymru, so let’s just pretend we are already independent and tackle them, though with Plaid and Labour at the helm one cannot help but feel the ship is sailing onto wokey rocks.

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

Wokey rocks? Since Woke is a term coined by black Americans to describe being aware that execution of the laws of the land are weighted against them, I’m not sure how this pertains to PC and Llafur

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
1 year ago
Reply to  Llinos

Of course you understand. Much as you understand why you use Llinos. .

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

I “use” the name my parents gave me. If you are slyly implying something different, I’d rather you dropped your mask of civility and just said it. It feels quite a nasty response to a reasonably civil difference of opinion

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

Is this because I called out your homophobia on the thread about school books? Are you implying I must be trans because you can’t conceive of people not motivated by self-interest?
No I am not trans.
If it is something else, don’t be coy. Guessing games are tiresome

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

Sliming away from explaining your nasty comment then? How brave.

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
1 year ago

Same crowd as cheered our Prince’s head on a spike. Ignore and move on.

Marc
Marc
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

‘Our Prince’ are you referring to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd?

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
1 year ago
Reply to  Marc

I am.

Rick N
Rick N
1 year ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

I didnt cheer

Llinos
Llinos
1 year ago
Reply to  Marc

Ohhh great x something grampa Llew. (For me and probably many others on this board)
I don’t think the royalists present did him in. Probably different royalists.
We must be aware of our history and the war crimes perpetuated against us. But we do our cause no good by blaming the uninvolved

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
1 year ago

Crawler Guto Harri knows how to get his nose brown. Conservative clown Boris Johnson is. a joke and he’s not far behind him.

SundanceKid
SundanceKid
1 year ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

He’s such a serf.

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