David Cameron: Five times the seemingly unflappable Prime Minister accidentally let his guard down

From saying everybody in Yorkshire hates each other to forgetting how many houses he owns, the Prime Minister has had his share of awkward political moments

Cameron landed himself in hot water for saying Yorkshire folk hate each other (AP)

David Cameron prides himself on being a polished politician. Always calm and collected, it is rare for the Prime Minister to become ostensibly hot under the collar.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. The former PR executive, Thatcher aficionado, and Blair-heir cannot always keep his cool and there have been some occasions where he has veered off-piste and his more controversial and politically awkward opinions have slipped out.

An incident on Tuesday provides the perfect example of this. Speaking to the Queen, Mr Cameron was caught on camera describing Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt” on the eve of a major corruption conference in London. He will be hosting delegates from the two countries later this week, making for somewhat uncomfortable timing.

In his own words, “We've got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain... Nigeria and Afghanistan, possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”.

But this is not the only example of Mr Cameron letting his guard drop. Here is a selection of microphone blunders and other awkward political gaffes.

People from Yorkshire hate each other

The Prime Minister landed himself in hot water for saying those from Yorkshire hate each other. Unfortunately for him, his microphone was left on and it was recorded for all to hear.

Standing on stage as he prepared for a speech in Leeds, he said, “We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn't realise they hated each other so much.” Later, Mr Cameron told the BBC's Test Match Special it was ”a total joke“.

Queen Elizabeth purred

Yet again, the Prime Minister was caught off guard, but this time, it wasn’t just recorded on audio but also on camera. Speaking to the then New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mr Cameron broke constitutional convention and told him the Queen had “purred down the line” after he told her Scotland had voted against independence. He was, in turn, forced to apologise, telling The Andrew Marr Show he felt “extremely sorry and very embarrassed”.

Swarm of migrants

The Conservative leader came under fire for his absent-minded description of migrants trying to reach Britain as a “swarm” in Summer of last year. When asked about the Calais crisis, he spoke of ”a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain“. The comments were internationally condemned. Nevertheless, Mr Cameron defended his use of language saying it was not intended to “dehumanise” migrants.

“I was explaining that there are a large number of people crossing the Mediterranean, coming from the Middle East, coming to Europe and I was trying to explain that it was a very large number of people,” he told BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme. “I was not intending to dehumanise, I don't think it does dehumanise people”.

Unsure of how many houses he owned

In a 2009 interview with The Times, Mr Cameron provided some rather sketchy details about how many houses he owned. He concluded by adding, “Do not make me sound like a prat for not knowing how many houses I’ve got”.

When asked about how many properties he owned, he said, “I own a house in North Kensington which you’ve been to and my house in the constituency in Oxfordshire and that is, as far as I know, all I have.”

Then asked about a house in Cornwall, he said, “No, that is, Samantha used to have a timeshare in South Devon but she doesn’t any more.” And then asked about a fourth, he said, he said “not that I can think of”, adding that his wife owned a field in Scunthorpe.

He then expressed anxiety about how the interview would make him appear. “I was wondering how that will come across as a soundbite”; “‘Not that I can think of’ makes me sound… I am really worried about that…”; “I am still thinking about this house thing”.

Following the law doesn't exempt you from surveillance

Unveiling a series of measures for cracking down on extremist views in May of 2015, Mr Cameron said being a law-abiding citizen was not enough to guarantee freedom from government surveillance.

“For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone',” he said. The remarks prompted an onslaught of criticism on social media with many saying the comments were Orwellian.