‘We want to make sure British internet is the safest internet in the world’
Nadine Dorries has appeared on TikTok and the culture secretary comes across about as well as you’d imagine.
In the video posted on Thursday evening by fellow Tory, Dr Luke Evans, Dorries gets a little confused when talking about the internet, that helpful thing that’s been around since the 80s.
Introducing herself as the “Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport” in the MP for Bosworth’s ongoing series “#MPlife”, Dorries explains her responsibilities include making sure the UK has access to superfast broadband, so everyone can “downstream” movies in their own homes.
Dorries then says she wants to make the internet in the UK “the safest internet in the world”.
“It’s a huge department,” she says. “We’re responsible for football pitches…tennis pitches in your communities.”
"Downstream your movies."
"Tennis pitches."
Digital, culture, media, and sport secretary Nadines Dorries proves she has no idea about digital, culture, media, or sport pic.twitter.com/8UJDHVIFXk
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) April 22, 2022
Dorries clear misunderstanding of internet terminology, comes after she showed earlier this month just how little she knew about her government’s plans to sell Channel 4.
In a similar incident earlier this month, Dorries announced controversial plans to sell off the public-owned broadcaster, sparking outrage amongst top Tories, film-makers and the public.
Discussing plans during a commons select committee, it became clear the minister in charge of the sell-off had little comprehension of the detail – notably that she did not know it does not receive public funding to make its programmes.
The channel is ultimately owned by the state but makes its programmes with revenue generated by advertising.
Channel 4 is “publicly owned, not publicly funded” and “doesn’t cost the tax payer a penny” said former Scottish Tory leader Baroness Davidson at the time.
In another gaffe earlier this year, Dorries was ridiculed for incorrectly claiming that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had it easier than Boris Johnson – because they ran the country at a time before rolling news and social media existed.
She was corrected by senior BBC journalist Tom Hourigan who explained: “24 hour news launched with Sky News 18 years earlier in 1989, with BBC News 24 coming on air in 1997”.
Similar replies were posted by broadcast legend Adam Bolton and Tom Boadle, a senior news editor at Sky News.
Blair as example of why we won’t need GE is wrong. It was yonks ago Blair to Brown smooth pre announced handover, no leadership election. Brown was still pressured to go, bottled it and then lost.
V different times pre rolling 24hr news / social media.— Rt Hon Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) January 27, 2022
During another blow to public confidence, Dorries notably mistook comedian Joe Lycett’s mocking tweet for an earnest show of support.
Dorries embarrassingly retweeted Lycett’s mock support for Boris Johnson before swiftly deleting it. “Boris Johnson dont rise to it babe, im with nadine we r on ur side no matter what xoxox [sic]”, it read.
Hahahahahahaha https://t.co/8W8oUSFe4P
— Joe Lycett (@joelycett) January 26, 2022
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