Eurosceptic Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne was caught nodding off during a parliamentary debate on Brexit as Ken Clarke expounded on the virtues of the EU. Swayne was seen jolting awake with a sheepish smile.
Clarke, a committed Europhile, was speaking during a debate on the government’s flagship Brexit legislation which seeks to transfer EU law onto domestic statute books.
Swayne could be seen leaning comfortably with an elbow on the bench before he gradually falling asleep. His head dropped further and further down until he was stretched out motionless for about a minute.
The footage shows Swayne waking up suddenly when Clarke cries “The Charter of Fundamental Rights.” Swayne then smirks while Clarke carries on, oblivious of what was going on behind him.
MPs are due to vote Wednesday on whether the bill should pass on to the House of Lords later this year.
Swayne later claimed he was exhausted from an early morning swim, and that debating the bill yet again had taken its toll on him. Many have taken to Twitter to mock the MP, with some labelling his nap “disgraceful.”
Another user mocked him saying:
Some called on him to go home.