WHEN you're a senior figure in government with a reputation for being posh, it's important to watch what you say - and eat.
Chancellor George Osborne has been forced to defend himself after posting a picture of himself on Twitter (see above) eating a late-night burger.
The Chancellor tweeted the image at 10pm on Tuesday night, as he prepared to announce £11.5 billion of cuts in his Spending Review. The picture was accompanied by the message: "Putting final touches to the speech."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Osborne's attempt to show the world that he eats burgers and chips just like everyone else backfired in spectacular fashion when The Sun pointed out that his nocturnal snack was a "gourmet meal" costing at least ten pounds.
The newspaper quickly coined the phrase "Shamburger" to describe the offending meal, while the Evening Standard and The Independent both decided the chancellor was embroiled in "Burger-gate".
The Sun revealed the Chancellor's 'man-of-the-people' meal had been ordered from the gourmet food chain, Byron, where hamburgers cost £6.95 upwards - and chips are extra.
Byron's website says it sources "high quality meat from Scotland" and minces it fresh every day, to create "proper hamburgers the way they should be".
The Sun helpfully pointed out that there are ten branches of McDonald's, where burgers cost as little as 99p, in the vicinity of Whitehall.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast the Chancellor defended himself, saying "It is perfectly reasonable to have a hamburger when you are working on a speech."
Osborne explained he did not get a McDonald's meal because the chain does not make deliveries.
Unfortunately for Osborne, Bryon's founder, former Etonian Tom Byng, pointed out that neither does Byron.
To be fair, Osborne has eaten at McDonald's in the past, although it wasn't exactly a PR triumph. In April he was pictured buying a meal from the Golden Arches at a motorway service station while his parliamentary car waited for him in a parking spot reserved for disabled motorists.
-
BBC pauses probe into presenter ‘sex scandal’ as police take overSpeed Read Met Police weighing up whether to launch criminal investigation as Rishi Sunak calls claims ‘shocking and concerning’
-
Will Twitter save Tucker Carlson?Talking Point The platform may be a boon to the ex-Fox host. But it's a tricky tightrope to walk for the social media giant. Will it last?
-
Tucker Carlson launching a 'new version' of his show on TwitterSpeed Read
-
NPR quits Twitter following 'state-affiliated' label, says it 'undermines our credibility'Speed Read
-
Muzzling the BBC: what does Indian PM Narendra Modi have to hide?Under the Radar The Delhi government has blocked the airing of a documentary on Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots
-
The Week Unwrapped: Antisocial Saudis, hormone therapy and retro techpodcast Why is Saudi Arabia investing in – and banning – social networks? Will new research make life easier for trans women? And is the future of technology dumb?
-
10 things you need to know today: December 17, 2022Daily Briefing Elon Musk restores Twitter accounts of several prominent journalists after backlash, U.S. will buy 3 million barrels of oil to replenish strategic reserve, and more
-
Elon Musk bans critical journalists on TwitterSpeed Read Several high-profile reporters have been suspended for sharing tweets about owner’s private jet flights
