Labour face ridicule over Greek advice

George Osborne has mocked Labour for receiving economic advice from Yanis Varoufakis and broadcaster Paul Mason, suggesting they were chosen because 'Chairman Mao was dead and Mickey Mouse was busy'.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George OsborneChancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne

Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed the former Greek finance minister will play a role in advising the party and Mr Osborne used Treasury questions to poke fun at the announcement.

He said: “Frankly, the fact that the Labour Party is now getting its advice from Yanis Varoufakis and the revolutionary Marxist broadcaster Paul Mason does not suggest to me that they have got an answer to economic security. Presumably they chose those two because Chairman Mao was dead and Mickey Mouse was busy.”

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Meanwhile, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands also tried to get in on the act but was slammed by John Bercow for being “boring” and wasting parliament’s time. Jeremy Quin, the Tory MP for Horsham, asked Mr Hands if the frontbench is “looking forward to the pearls of wisdom” which may come from Labour because of the party’s relationship with Mr Varoufakis.

But he was then shut down by Mr Bercow who said: “Order. Sit down. It’s a terrible waste of time. Long-winded, boring and unnecessary.”