ANDREW Neil has been left even more red in the face than usual after falling for a glaringly obvious April Fools’ joke.
The embarrassing moment came after George Allison, the editor of the UK Defence Journal, shared an image purporting to show three warships.
“NEWS | HMS Queen Elizabeth (left) and HMS Prince of Wales (right) have rendezvoused with French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (centre) in the North Sea today,” Allison wrote.
The hook was baited with the obvious fact that the “Charles de Gaulle” was significantly smaller than either of its royally named associates.
And Allison couldn’t have landed a much bigger fish.
Having seen the image, former GB News chair Neil tried to take a pot-shot at the French president Emmanuel Macron, but ended up shooting himself in the foot.
“Macron will simply hate this picture!!” he wrote.
Macron will simply hate this picture!! https://t.co/EQjAJaXOtv
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 1, 2022
The former BBC host seems to be struggling to tell fact from fiction without a team of publicly funded researchers behind him.
Fortunately, Tory MP Tobias Ellwood – the chair of the Commons Defence Committee – was on hand to point out the obvious.
“This is a fake pic Andrew…” Ellwood wrote.
READ MORE: Five things we learned from Andrew Neil's interview attacking GB News
Political commentator Mujtaba Rahman added: “There is something odd about this picture @afneil. The Ch de Gaulle aircraft carrier is 260m long. The Queen Elizabeth is 280m long …”
While Twitter user Chris McBride wrote: “This might be an old fake picture recycled for April Fools' Day, but it also gets one over the French and that's all that counts.”
Confirming the prank, Allison added: “I'm amazed that this needs said but check the date, folks.”
All joking aside, the Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service outside of the United States Navy. The ship is one of the most capable, versatile and powerful warships to ever sail. Vive la France! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/TvHwTEossl
— George Allison (@geoallison) April 1, 2022
He went on: “All joking aside, the Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in service outside of the United States Navy. The ship is one of the most capable, versatile and powerful warships to ever sail. Vive la France!”
UPDATE:
In the plot twist absolutely no-one saw coming, Neil has doubled-down in bizarre fashion.
Responding to one user who told him that the image was "100% photoshop", Neil wrote: "That’s untrue. And it’s not April 1st."
That’s untrue. And it’s not April 1st https://t.co/pVjJrsgBt1
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 1, 2022
It very much is April 1 (at least at the time of writing), and the photo is very much a fake.
Allison has even said so himself, telling Twitter that he made it in 2021 and highlighting that if anyone is in any doubt they need only check the size of the planes on the ships.
Those on the "Charles de Gaulle" are much smaller than those on the British ships ... it's almost as if the whole image has been doctored.
But it hasn't been, because veteran journalist Andrew Neil says it hasn't been.
UPDATE NUMBER 2:
Neil is now claiming that he knew the picture was fake all along. Of course he did.
It’s a joke. The pic is fake. Anybody can see that https://t.co/c6OfGqRXpd
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 1, 2022
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel