Boris Johnson had to ask German leader Angela Merkel to put herself on mute after she inadvertently interrupted his remarks on a virtual meeting of G7 leaders this afternoon.
The German chancellor appeared to forget to put herself on mute and could be heard in the background of the Prime Minister’s opening remarks.
“Can you hear us, Angela?,” the PM asked, before adding: “I think you need to mute.”
Mr Johnson kicked off the meeting by waving at those on screen, saying it was “great to see all of you” before beginning the discussion.
Later in his remarks, Mr Johnson urged the G7 leaders to work together on “building back better” from the pandemic – using this to make a quip about US president Joe Biden.
He said it was a slogan that Mr Biden has used, adding: “I think he may have nicked it from us but I certainly nicked it from somewhere else – probably some UN disaster relief programme.”
Mr Biden could be seen laughing on the video call on the screen inside the Cabinet Room.
The G7 leaders agreed the meeting was a success and the Prime Minister expressed his hope they would be able to meet “face to face” for the summit in Cornwall in June.
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