HUNDREDS of thousands of people saw New Forest MP Sir Desmond Swayne sleeping soundly in the House of Commons during a debate this afternoon.
BBC Politics tweeted images to its 429,000 followers of the long-standing Conservative MP slumped to one side as Ken Clarke MP launched into a speech on EU rights.
.@DesmondSwayne MP just fell asleep in the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/msqIBUbZCJ
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 16, 2018
Despite Mr Clarke promising to make his speech short, 61-year-old Desmond Swayne was asleep within around a minute. The full speech lasted for 11 minutes.
Mr Swayne was sitting directly behind Mr Clarke and was therefore in full view of the cameras. He awoke with a start and carried on listening to Mr Clarke's speech.
The video sparked hundreds of comments on social media.
Mr Swayne said: "I simply fell asleep momentarily. I apologise unreservedly. I will endeavour to ensure it doesn't happen again."
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