David Cameron accused of breaking law over dwarf joke
David Cameron has been accused by campaigners of breaking the law by cracking an "appalling" joke comparing Commons Speaker John Bercow to one of the Seven Dwarfs.
A charity which helps people with primordial dwarfism and other forms of restricted growth said the comments were a form of harassment - and called for talks with the Prime Minister.
In a dig at Bercow - believed to be 5ft 6in tall - Cameron said health minister Simon Burns had asked his driver to reverse into the Speaker's car.
When Bercow said he was "not happy" about the incident, Cameron quipped to journalists at a Westminster lunch on Wednesday, Burns retorted: "So which one are you?".
In June, Health Minster Burns publicly apologised after calling the Speaker a "stupid, sanctimonious dwarf" in the Commons.
He said he was sorry for any offence he had caused after the insult was branded "derogatory and deeply offensive" by the Walking with Giants Foundation (WWGF).
Prime Minister Cameron's spokeswoman said he had made "light-hearted comments not intended to cause offence".
But John Connerty, WWGF co-founder and charity secretary, launched a fierce condemnation of the Prime Minister's decision to "glorify" the previous incident.
"Once again we have an influential figure, if not the most influential person in the country, making distasteful references about a person's lack of height," he said.
"It was bad enough having a minister of health make similar distasteful comments but to have the Prime Minister himself glorify the comments in a joke is totally unacceptable and downright appalling."
It's been a week full of polittical gaffes: first it was Sarkozy calling a reporter a paedophile, then Sarah Palin got her geography wrong, again, and said that she was standing by her North Korean allies, and then finally a newly appointed Tory peer called Howard Flight said that changes to the welfare system will make it harder for the middle classes to have kids but lead to poor to breed.
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Cubejam
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Oh please, this charity would only make themselves look like fools. Over reaction much?
- 1 year ago
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Cubejam
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CarolineS
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compare this silly comment to gaffe's made by italian prime minister berlusconi, and it pales in comparison. Berlusconi and his government talk crap about gay people and nothing is said, whilst cameron says this and there is uproar, personally they are both idiots, with terrible senses of humour.
- 1 year ago
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CarolineS
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mik661
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So why don't they sue Disney and demand that any representation of the seven dwarfs be destroyed? Short people got no reason to live.
- 1 year ago
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mik661
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thelastwheeler
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i find WWGF (Walking with Giants Foundation) TO BE VERY OFFENSIVE! Its as offensive as WOFM (watching out for midgets ). no joke these people need to take a lesson from their own book. WWGF arguably the worst hypocrites. go ahead pass off your pain onto someone else. shame on you!traditionally Giants are killed and feared. Change you name, insensitive fools. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
- 1 year ago
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thelastwheeler
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richjm
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As jokes go, it's not bad at all. People need to relax a bit.
- 1 year ago
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richjm
