Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
BRITAIN’S GAFFE-PRONE Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson likened a traditional Maori greeting to a headbutt today while visiting indigenous leaders in New Zealand.
Johnson opened his two-day trip with a visit to a marae, or Maori meeting house, in Kaikoura, the South Island town that was hit by a massive earthquake last year.
While there he was greeted with a hongi, the Maori welcome which involves two people pressing their noses together.
The ritual symbolises participants sharing the breath of life, but Johnson said he was concerned about how it would be received in Scotland, home of the “Glasgow kiss”, or headbutt.
“Thank you for teaching me the hongi, I think it is a beautiful form of introduction, though it might be misinterpreted in a pub in Glasgow if you were to try it,” he said.
Johnson also quipped that “the marae has a tradition of strong female leadership, which we also have back home”, referring to his boss, Theresa May.
Two-day visit
Johnson is on a two-day visit to New Zealand which is expected to focus on trade, foreign policy and international security issues.
While in Wellington, Johnson will also unveil a war memorial and will meet New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English.
It is the former London mayor’s first visit to New Zealand.
“I also have to say that this is the most mind-blowingly, mind-numbingly beautiful country that I’ve ever seen,” he said.
I think probably the only landscape that I can think of that can conceivably do justice to the imagination of JRR Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings.
Johnson has a history of blunders, including touting the trade benefits of Scotch whisky in a Sikh temple earlier this year, before being told that alcohol was against the religion.
Prior to becoming Britain’s top diplomat, he compared Hillary Clinton to “sadistic nurse in a mental hospital” and said ex-US president Barack Obama was “part-Kenyan” with “an ancestral dislike of the British Empire”.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Fair play. Brave lads and ladies!
Real heroes, good people. Thank you for everything you do.
Ordinary everyday folk from all walks of life that go to sea and save lives at the drop of a hat.
Hero’s one and all.
Brave men and women, but we cannot forget their families who know each time their loved one goes out on a rescue that they may not come home. Not your average job.
Well done :)
Absolute heroes,selfless,amazing people.They do it for everyone,no matter who,and everyone should appreciate them.
Great people who do great work. They are heroes!:)
Fantastic people, anyone who walks past a lifeboat collector without dropping in at least a euro should be strung up.
And remember to call into shop at Lifeboat station in Dun Laoghaire lots of lovely items and all your money supports the RNLI , very friendly staff all volunteering aswell.
have your say