This is the latest excruciating gaffe for the Tory MP
Tory MP Thérèse Coffey isn’t known for her attention to detail, or for her sensible contributions to public debate. But in her latest gaffe, she has well and truly outdone herself.
Speaking in the debate on the government’s controversial Rwanda Bill, Coffey unintentionally confessed she didn’t even know the capital of the country she wants to deport asylum seekers to.
Responding to comments from the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, Coffey said: “I have to say I was somewhat astonished by the speech of the shadow home secretary who can’t even get the name of the country right”. She then went on to say: “Talking about the ‘Kigali government’. We are talking about Rwanda. A respected country.”
Her faux outrage was, unsurprisingly, misplaced. Cooper wasn’t mistaking Rwanda for another country, but was instead referring to Rwanda’s capital which is, of course, Kigali.
Coffey will no doubt want to avoid being asked to point to Rwanda on a map…
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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