SNP MP Drew Hendry politely held his tongue on BBC News this afternoon after he was incorrectly introduced as his colleague Alyn Smith.
Presenter Norman Smith gathered a Tory, Labour and SNP MP following Prime Minister’s Questions to discuss the latest on the Russia report.
Smith told viewers: “Awful lot of foreign relations going on.
“Let’s mull over a little bit of that Russia report, which was a bit of the sharp end of the tussle between Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer. With me today is the Conservatives’ Dehenna Davison, Labour’s Catherine West and the SNP’s Alyn Smith. Welcome.”
The Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP raised his eyebrow a little when he realised what had been said – but didn’t bring up the issue with the journalist.
Instead, Hendry waited about five minutes until host Smith became aware of his error.
Smith said: “Okay I have to apologise to Drew Hendry, I’m so sorry, for some reason I’m told it was Alyn Smith who was there for the SNP today. Drew what can I say. Mea culpa. I think I’ve done it before with one of your colleagues.”
Hendry had a sense of humour about the mistake, replying: “You’ll just have to put up with me.”
During PMQs today Starmer pressed Johnson over the Russian threat to national security.
A report from the Intelligence and Security Committee warned the UK Government had underestimated the treat of Russian interference. The 50-page document said the UK was “clearly a target” for disinformation campaigns, but the issue was described as a “hot potato” with no one organisation tackling it.
Starmer told the PM: "The PM sat on this report for 10 months and failed to plug a gap in our law in national security.”
"How is the PM going to address that gap and meet the threat with the joined-up, robust response it deserves?"
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