Cameron apologises for interview Balls-up; said shadow chancellor was "like someone with Tourette's" - Polidicks

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16458524[/url] [quote=BBC News][b]David Cameron has apologised after he said facing the shadow chancellor in Parliament was "like having someone with Tourette's sitting opposite you".[/b] "I was speaking off the cuff and if I offended anyone, I am very sorry," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr. The prime minister initially made his comments about Ed Balls's heckling [url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9000249/David-Cameron-my-vision-for-a-fair-Britain.html]in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph.[/url] Nicky Clark, whose daughter has Tourette syndrome, said his comments showed "a lack of understanding". Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterised by tics - involuntary, rapid, sudden movements that occur repeatedly. It can be particularly debilitating because the vocal tics can include the uncontrollable use of obscene language - known as coprolalia - and repetition of phrases the person hears others use - called echolalia. 'Ceaseless banter' In the Sunday Telegraph interview, the prime minister said of Mr Balls: "He just annoys me. But I'm very bad, in the House of Commons, at not getting distracted, and the endless, ceaseless banter, it's like having someone with Tourette's permanently sitting opposite you." Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, Mr Cameron said Prime Minister's Questions could be "challenging". "It is a lesson for me that in the Commons I have to try and tune out the noise and just concentrate on trying to answer the question," he added. Mrs Clark, who is from Shropshire, told BBC 5 live's Breakfast show that "comments like this compound the myths and the stereotypes surrounding people with Tourette's in Britain". She added: "If we're supposed to look to him as some kind of lead, is this the best we can expect and disabled people expect? "This comment comes in the middle of a piece about a fairer Britain. How fair is Britain going to be for disabled people if this is the lead we get from Downing Street? "This shows an utter disregard for the condition and a lack of understanding from our prime minister."[/quote]

It's just something people say isn't it? Just something else people have to hate because it's the government.

Smear drama. That's politics.

To be fair it's a ridiculous thing for the PM to say. You can't pretend this is alright.

Cry cry cry. Man up UK.

[QUOTE]Mr Balls[/QUOTE] I shall never take this man seriously for as long as I live. And the name doesn't help, either.

People need to stop complaining about things that simply don't matter. I mean seriously, do they actually think that David Cameron now hates sufferers of Tourette Syndrome? "This comment comes in the middle of a piece about a fairer Britain. How fair is Britain going to be for disabled people if this is the lead we get from Downing Street?" For feck's sake, stop reading so much into it.

You can't say anything without having to apologise to some minority in UK politics now. Some people just need to grow up and stop getting offended at everything. It was a silly thing for him to say but hardly offensive, somewhat accurate at describing Ed Balls as well.

[img]http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/thickofit/images/thick_char2_tucker.jpg[/img]

Yeah. And this is what Malcolm Tucker did after hearing the Tourette's comment: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duChcZ5edwM&feature=related[/media]

Ed Balls once dressed up as a Nazi so really he can't talk about being offended.

[QUOTE=Memobot;34113278]It's just something people say isn't it? Just something else people have to hate because it's the government.[/QUOTE] There's a pretty big difference between calling your mate a fuckin' spastic retard in the pub, and saying it to somebody at work (Go on, try it). It's not acceptable in the office, and it's no way acceptable in Parliament. It's the government for fuck sake, if they expect us to take them seriously they can't do these things. [QUOTE=Moby-;34113698]Cry cry cry. Man up UK.[/QUOTE] Grow up before asking people to man up.

[QUOTE=Cone;34113718]I shall never take this man seriously for as long as I live. And the name doesn't help, either.[/QUOTE] The last Chancellor was called Johnson. As Jimmy Carr put it. "Johnson out. Balls in."

I just listened to a lady on the radio with Tourette's she said it was offensive because Cameron "Implied there was something wrong with having Tourettes's" She has a good point. You really need to look at the bigger picture before screaming "Man up!" The PM saying something like this is not acceptable. He isn't a stand up comedian. I'm glad he apologised.

it's almost as if people actively look for things to be offended about

[QUOTE=Jiro-uk-;34119834]I just listened to a lady on the radio with Tourette's she said it was offensive because Cameron "Implied there was something wrong with having Tourettes's" She has a good point. You really need to look at the bigger picture before screaming "Man up!" The PM saying something like this is not acceptable. He isn't a stand up comedian. I'm glad he apologised.[/QUOTE] Have you ever had to sit next to someone with tourettes?

[QUOTE=Sanius;34120730]it's almost as if people actively look for things to be offended about[/QUOTE] They do. Suing culture.

[QUOTE=MrEndangered;34119050]There's a pretty big difference between calling your mate a fuckin' spastic retard in the pub, and saying it to somebody at work (Go on, try it). It's not acceptable in the office, and it's no way acceptable in Parliament. It's the government for fuck sake, if they expect us to take them seriously they can't do these things. Grow up before asking people to man up.[/QUOTE] Firsyly, saying someone behaves 'like that have Tourette's' is a bit different from calling them a 'fucking spastic retard'. Definitely a higher level of intent or likelihood to cause offence there. Secondly, a colleague of mine recently said EXACTLY what the PM said to my BOSS. My boss gave him and apology and on reflection has clamed down a hell of a lot. I'll say it again: It's just a common phrase with no mean intent.