Prankster Lee Nelson interrupts British PM Theresa May’s speech

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech at her Conservative Party's annual conference on Wednesday was interrupted by a serial prankster who handed her a P45(unemployment notice), an incessant cough, and some problem with the backdrop.

First there was the prankster, theatrically handing her a notice that she was fired; then a persistent cough turned her delivery into a croak that was painful to the ear.

Just when she needed a rousing, commanding speech to restore authority over her warring Conservative Party, she endured a nightmare.

May attempted to shift the focus from Brexit to domestic issues, but at times struggled to deliver her words as her voice faltered, the Guardian reported.

As it worsened, Chancellor Philip Hammond gave her a glass of water and a cough sweet.

Comedian Lee Nelson, whose real name is Simon Brodkin, walked up to the stage and gave May P45.

He claimed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has clashed with May over Brexit, told him to do it.
 
"Hi @BorisJohnson, I gave Theresa her P45 just like you asked," Brodkin tweeted.

Hi @BorisJohnson, I gave Theresa her P45 just like you asked. pic.twitter.com/gzW0UluDMv

— Simon Brodkin (@simonbrodkin) October 4, 2017

Brodkin was evicted and subsequently arrested for breach of the peace.

As he was escorted out, May’s cough worsened and she began to have difficulty speaking. At one point the conference floor rose to a standing ovation, their applause intended to help her voice recover.

May seemed undisturbed by the interruption, which came just as she was turning to speak about the opposition Labour leader.

"I was about to talk about someone I want to give a P45 to: Jeremy Corbyn," she said to a standing ovation. 

Brodkin has a track record of pulling off such stunts.

He once threw a pile of fake dollars at the then world football chief Sepp Blatter during a press conference.

Later, the set behind the Prime Minister, which read, “Building a country that works for everyone”, began to fall apart, with an F and E dropping to the ground while she was still speaking.