Boris Johnson ‘told off’ by Theresa May in geography blunder As Foreign Secretary, he might be expected to know his Yemen from his Lebanon. But in an embarrassing display, Boris […]

As Foreign Secretary, he might be expected to know his Yemen from his Lebanon.

But in an embarrassing display, Boris Johnson repeatedly got the two mixed up and was rebuked by Theresa May for his gaffe.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Mrs May had to “butt in” to correct Johnson during a cabinet discussion on the Yemen civil war.

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At the meeting, he said: “We have got to do something about the Saudi war on Lebanon…”

Putting it down to a momentary slip, fellow Ministers let him continue, but he repeated the mistake much to their surprise given it is 1400 miles away and not involved in the conflict.

‘I think you mean Yemen, not Lebanon’

The Prime Minister had to intervene with: “Sorry to butt in here, but I think you mean Yemen, not Lebanon.”

Mr Johnson checked his notes and apologised.

Yemen has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.

More than 8600 people have been killed and 49,000 injured since March 2015, many from air strikes by a Saudi-led multinational coalition backing the president.

This is the latest in a long line of gaffes by Johnson.

On a visit to a sacred Buddhist site in Myanmar, he was reprimanded by the British ambassador when he recited the “inappropriate” colonial-era poem The Road to Mandalay.