British Prime Minister Keir Starmer witnessed an awkward moment during a meeting with officials at the G20 climate summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Starmer, striding confidently towards the business leaders, suddenly missed and tripped. Almost immediately, however, he regained his balance and avoided falling.
The unpleasant incident was caught on video; however, Downing Street reportedly instructed broadcasters to stop sharing the clip, citing embarrassment.
The Washington editor of The Times, Katy Balls, said the stumble would not have made the news if Downing Street had not made so much of an issue.
“…you’re just drawing more attention to the situation,” she told GB News presenter Tom Harwood. “It’s often better with these kinds of rants if the leader just laughs at them and tries to make a joke out of it.”
Here’s how netizens reacted:
Social media users pointed out that the stumble was not a big deal, but asking media houses not to share it was “ridiculous”.
“It’s not a big deal that he came across, no one cares. It’s a big deal that they want to try to stop it being shared, even though such a small issue that deserves such a big reaction just shows how ridiculous this government is, hence the sharing from me,” the user said.
Another added: “Why can’t he just laugh at himself and move like everyone else? Makes us want to find that video!!”
“Why is this a big deal? Because etiquette? Lame,” the user asked.
Another asked: “Is stumbling a state secret?”
One netizen claimed that the UK government’s order not to share the video is in line with what is happening in North Korea. “That’s pathetic. That’s almost Kim Jong-un levels. Like you said, it’s not a big deal that he crashed, but that they don’t want it to be seen. What’s next?”
“It was the previous government’s fault!” joked the netizen.
