Washington: The British media has slammed US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney for making a number of gaffes during his trip to London, with some tabloid headlines calling him a “Party-Pooper” and “Mitt the Twit.”
A British newspaper headlined a story about Romney’s visit with a spiteful quote from Olympian Carl Lewis: “I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn’t leave the country.”
“Are you kidding me, stay home if you don’t know what to say,” added Lewis.
Romney had expressed doubts that London may not be ready to host the Olympics in an interview just after his arrival, saying there were some “disconcerting” signs of organizational and security issues.
London Mayor Boris Johnson reverted back to Romney’s claims publicly during a massive pre-Games rally, The New York Daily News reports.
“There’s a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know if London is ready,” he cried, prompting the 60,000-person crowd to jeer the candidate’s name. “Are we ready?”
After his widespread criticism, Romney immediately went on the back foot and tried to control any further damage.
On Friday, Romney said: “After being here a couple of days, it looks to me like London is ready.”
Meanwhile, reports in the British media have emerged that Romney made another, but less-publicized blunder in London on Thursday.
In a brief press conference after leaving from a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, Romney nonchalantly mentioned he had met with the head of the British intelligence agency MI6.
The UK takes its super-secret intelligence service very seriously, refusing to even confirm its existence until 1994.
However, Britain`s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which handles press for MI6, said Romney’s comment was a slip-up, and refused to acknowledge any such meeting.
ANI
