Israel’s premier gets his Borises in a twist in cabinet meeting

Updated

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has released a video that clumsily tries to edit out a gaffe where he calls the British prime minister the wrong name.

Mr Netanyahu misspoke at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, referring to his British counterpart Boris Johnson as Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian president who died in 2007.

Cabinet ministers immediately corrected his error.

Brexit
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Andrew Milligan/PA)

But an official video of the meeting released hours later suddenly cuts away from Mr Netanyahu at the moment he says Yeltsin, instead he's heard saying "Boris Johnson".

The gaffe comes as Mr Netanyahu fights for his survival ahead of next week's election.

Royalty - Queen Elizabeth II State Visit to Russia
Then Russian president Boris Yeltsin with the Queen during a visit to the Bolshoi Ballet (Martin Keene/PA)

His campaign has branded the long-serving leader as a veteran statesman with close relations with world leaders.

The two premiers met on Thursday during Mr Netanyahu's snap trip to London.

Advertisement