‘I no longer drink 14 pints a day’ - Hague

William Hague has conceded he no longer drinks 14 pints of beer a day.
William HagueWilliam Hague
William Hague

The former Conservative Party leader told the Commons he had cutback his beer intake “quite considerably”.

He noted he drank just one pint at a recent Tory Party awayday, adding he indulged in the “fine Yorkshire tradition” of allowing someone else to buy the round of drinks.

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Mr Hague once told how he drank up to 14 pints of beer a day when he delivered drinks to pubs in Yorkshire as a teenager.

The interview with men’s magazine GQ in 2000 was viewed as a misguided attempt to bolster his image.

Asked by shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle if he had enjoyed his “usual 14 pints” at the Tory summit, Mr Hague replied: “On that point I had one pint actually, which another MP paid for so ... this is in a fine Yorkshire tradition that somebody else buys the round and I’ve had to cut back since the days of 14, quite considerably.”

Ms Eagle made light of the Tories’ gathering in an Oxfordshire hotel last week, which she noted was billed as a “how to beat Ukip” summit.

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She insisted some of the jokes made at the event were in such “dubious taste” that even controversial comedian Bernard Manning would have been embarrassed to use them.

Ms Eagle told Mr Hague: “I understand that last week after business questions you and your fellow Tories travelled to the Prime Minister’s constituency to shed the accusation that they’re out of touch and privileged by recreating the Bullingdon Club at a £200 a night hotel.”