The National:

ADVICE for anyone who ever loses their place in a speech: Do not do what Boris Johnson did.

Repeating “forgive me, forgive me, forgive me” and rummaging around your numerous sheets of paper is no way to subtly get over the embarrassment …

As well as losing his place in the address to the CBI conference in South Shields, the Prime Minister said a number of bonkers things.

In just 20 minutes the Conservative leader managed to compare himself to Moses, refer to himself in the third person and start talking about Peppa Pig World. Yes. Really.

“Yesterday I went as we all must to Peppa Pig World," he told the audience. "I don’t know if you’ve been to Peppa Pig World, hands up if anybody’s been to Peppa Pig World. Not enough! I was a bit hazy as to what I would find at Peppa Pig World, but I loved it, Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place. It has very safe streets, discipline in schools, heavy emphasis on new mass transit systems .. even if they’re a bit stereotypical about Daddy Pig."

“But the real lessons for me about going to Peppa Pig World, I’m surprised you haven't been there … was about the power of UK creativity … who would have believed that a pig that looks like a hairdryer, or possibly a Picasso-like hairdryer, a pig that was rejected by the BBC, would now be exported to 180 countries with theme parks both in America and in China as well as in the New Forrest.”

Praising the ingenuity of the private sector, Johnson said “no Whitehall civil servant could conceivably have come up with Peppa”.

And that wasn’t it for the weirdness …. the Prime Minister also compared his 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution to the 10 Commandments brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai.

The National:

In the speech (that was meant to be about green policies) Johnson, who once claimed wind farms could not “pull the skin off a rice pudding”, praised the “beautiful white mills” off the North Sea coast “as we claim a new harvest, rich and green from the drowned meadows of Doggerland”.

That power could fuel electric vehicles (EVs) – although Johnson acknowledged they may not “burble” like a high-powered petrol car, impersonating a roaring engine to underline the point.

Thankfully many viewers were on hand to point out all the totally bizarre moments during the address.

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Scottish TV presenter Lorraine Kelly was one of them – and had harsh words for the Prime Minister.

“DO YOUR HOMEWORK,” she wrote in all-caps. “READ YOUR BRIEFS.”

She went on: “Muddling through in a bumbling fashion  isn’t going to hack it any more.”

Lorraine was not the only star of Scottish TV to point out the totally cringe-inducing problems.

The National:

“That was one of the weirdest Boris Johnson speeches yet,” said STV political editor Colin Mackay. “He described Peppa Pig as a ‘Picasso like hairdryer’, made brrm noises like a car, lost his place for 20 seconds, & said young people need to get back to the office because ‘Mother Nature does not like us working from home.”

SNP MP Anum Qaisar had a relatable reaction to the clip.

“*Logs onto Twitter* *Sees a video of Boris Johnson discussing Peppa Pig* *Logs off Twitter*,” she joked.

Meanwhile others took aim at the Tories’ NHS Bill which is currently going through Parliament.

Dr Julia Grace Patterson of Every Doctor UK wasn’t happy with Johnson. “I wasn’t at Peppa Pig world yesterday Boris Johnson. I was strategising about how to #ScrapNHSBill. Your dreadful Bill will harm patients,” she told him.

So, what do you think National readers? Is this man genuinely a total buffoon, or is he trying to distract from the above-mentioned NHS Bill? Have your say below …