Attempting to pay tribute to Jane Austen and her recent commemoration on the £10 note, Conservative Parliament member Andrea Leadsom made an embarrassing gaffe. Leadsom called Austen one of the U.K.’s “greatest living authors”…despite the fact that Austen died 200 years ago this month.
Leadsom quickly corrected herself, stating Austen is one of their “greatest ever writers”, but the damage was already done. All manner of Twitter raconteurs weighed in, milking the slip for all it’s worth:
BREAKING: Andrea Leadsom devastated to learn of Jane Austen’s passing. Cancels today’s photo-op with William Shakespeare as mark of respect
— Dave (@davechannel) July 20, 2017
To be fair, Andrea Leadsom only said that about Jane Austen because she wishes it was still the 19th century
— Dean Tāne (@Maccadaynu) July 20, 2017
You can watch the pivotal moment below.
Featured image courtesy of Irish News.