Memorable day for May, for wrong reasons

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday set Britain on a course aimed at giving new hope to the dreams of young people struggling to get a home of their own.

But her keynote speech at the end of the Conservative conference in Manchester will be remembered for a catalog of disasters.

"Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong in a speech designed to unite the Conservatives behind their leader," said a report in the Guardian newspaper.

A prankster managed to get through a strict security net and handed a note to May as she delivered her speech to a hall packed with thousands of delegates during live coverage on television.

The prime minister then suffered persistent bouts of coughing, eased only a little by a cough sweet handed over by the Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Then some of the letters fell from the backdrop behind her rostrum.

The prankster, comedian Simon Brodkin, handed May a fake P45 form, the official letter handed to people when they lose their jobs.

He was bundled away by security and later handcuffed as police carried out a body search.

May was given a rousing reception from her audience after managing to complete her speech.

But the chain of disastrous events captured the headlines in newspapers and in broadcast media.

Reaction was swift from the rival opposition Labour Party as well as the business world.

Shadow chancellor, Labour's John McDonnell, said: "By the time the current leader of the Conservative Party eventually finished speaking, she had a total of 15 billion pounds in spending commitments just in this parliament without a single reference to how the money will be found to pay for them. The Conservative magical money tree returns."

The Sun, Britain's most popular newspaper, compared the party to the 1970s television classic Fawlty Towers in which Monty Python star John Cleese plays Basil who runs a shambolic hotel while complaining about foreigners.

"Like the sign outside Fawlty Towers, the missing letters behind Theresa May are an emblem of a tragicomic farce," The Sun said in an editorial.

Business Minister Greg Clark said the Conservatives should stay cool-headed and praised May for showing guts and grace by coping with the interruptions.

Xinhua - reuters