Desmond Swayne: I ‘blacked up’ as James Brown

Justin Trudeau found himself in hot water last week after pictures emerged of him ‘blacking up’ for a fancy-dress party. A week on, an unlikely supporter has leapt to the Canadian prime minister’s defence. Step forward, Desmond Swayne.

In a blog on his website titled ‘Trudeau’s Turban’, the flamboyant Brexiteer said the only thing Trudeau did wrong was say sorry. Swayne then made a surprising confession of his own:

‘I once went to a ‘Blues Brothers’ themed fancy-dress party as James Brown. I went to some trouble to be as authentic as possible.’

So will Swayne now follow in Trudeau’s footsteps and say sorry? Don’t bank on it:

‘I can assure readers of this column that I have no intention of apologising. Constituents often write to me having been infuriated by some latest absurdity of political correctness. I tell them that the best response is simply to laugh at it.’