Michael Gove channels Rag’n’Bone Man in evidence to Commons committee

If things go wrong ‘blame it on me’, says minister

Michael Gove today gave MPs a surprising insight into his music listening habits, when he managed to shoehorn singer Rag’n’Bone Man into a discussion of customs arrangements after Brexit.

The Cabinet Office minister - better known for his love of opera - was answering questions at the House of Commons Committee on Future Relations with the EU, when the issue was raised of the potential for gridlock in Kent due to queues of lorries waiting to go through new post-Brexit controls at Dover.

If there was disruption, would it be the fault of the ports, or the police, or the haulage companies, or the UK or the EU, he was asked.

Without missing a beat, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster expressed himself through the words of the heavily-tattooed, deep-voiced singer-songwriter from Sussex.

“If things go wrong, then - to paraphrase Rag’n’Bone Man - put the blame on me,” he told the committee.

Fans of Rag’n’Bone Man’s 2016 hit Human will know, of course, that he actually urged listeners: “Don’t put your blame on me.”

It remains to be seen whether this is the tune ministers will be singing come January, when hauliers start having to deal with the 200m extra customs forms and new checks at Channel ports which the government expects as a result of Brexit.