CHANCELLOR Kwasi Kwarteng has come in for criticism after appearing to laugh during the Queen’s funeral.
Kwarteng attended the state funeral on Monday along with several other world leaders including Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron.
He was seated behind former prime minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie.
People online spotted him smiling and appearing to act distracted during the ceremony, with some accusing him of taking a call during the funeral.
Twitter user @LouisHenwood was amongst those to comment and posted footage which showed the Chancellor laughing.
Nice to see Kwasi Kwarteng clearly taking a personal call at the Queens funeral and having a bit of a laugh The chancellor can't even show any respect at this most solemn occasion#queensfuneral pic.twitter.com/j2KlYS05hN
— Louis 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 〓〓 💙 Defend the right to vote (@LouisHenwood) September 19, 2022
They wrote: “Nice to see Kwasi Kwarteng clearly taking a personal call at the Queen’s funeral and having a bit of a laugh.
“The chancellor can’t even show any respect at this most solemn occasion.”
Another user posted a video which was captured during the two-minute silence which showed the Chancellor taking off his glasses, wiping his face and moving whilst those around him remained still.
Many have been critical of his actions across social media, including Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, who said on Twitter: “What’s going on here? …..because the answers will range from inappropriate to downright frightening from our chancellor.”
Another said: “BBC reporting that Justin Trudeau potentially caused offence by singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a London bar two nights before the Queen’s funeral; but curiously not a single mention of Kwasi Kwarteng laughing, smirking and behaving very strangely through the actual funeral.”
This is not the first time the Chancellor has been criticised for disruptive behaviour.
In 2015, the MP was widely condemned after being caught laughing out loud during a debate over a package of £4.4 billion cuts to tax credits.
He appeared to be sharing a joke with a colleague sat in front of him at the time.
