PM’s cup snatched away in what’s speculated to be evidence of No 10’s feuding tribes

It is a moment worthy of any episode of the political TV series The Thick Of It. As he walks through the Conservative party conference, Boris Johnson is handed a hot drink by one of his assistants. However, like his working parliamentary majority, the prime minister is able to hang on to it only momentarily before it is snatched away from him.

“No disposable cups,” a second aide murmurs as she snatches Johnson’s drink, seemingly worried about the implications of the Tory leader being pictured using a wasteful single-use cup. Johnson shakes his hands and mutters: “Oh. Oh. Oh” as the clip finishes.

James Felton (@JimMFelton) He doesn’t care about using a disposable cup, has to be reminded that he *should* care and gets it confiscated. Now coffee-less and miserable, the big green PR win is cancelled out by the fact it was all caught on camera anyway. Absolute perfection. pic.twitter.com/tsvyoiPz3q

Given the recently denied allegation of groping, the mystery around his connections to Jennifer Arcuri and the short Brexit deadline swirling around the prime minister, drinking from a disposable cup might not seem the highest of priorities. But it is possible the aide was only too well aware of the furore that wasteful cups can cause for political leaders.

Canada’s Green party leader, Elizabeth May, was embroiled in controversy last week when it emerged that, without her knowledge, party officials had Photoshopped a picture of her holding a disposable cup so that it looked like she was holding something more environmentally friendly.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Elizabeth May with a disposable cup, and the doctored image featuring a metal straw and recyclable cup. Photograph: Green Party of Canada

And with the Conservative’s recent environmental policy launch being accused of focusing on animal welfare rather than the ongoing climate crisis, you can see why the aide might be sensitive.

Some on social media, however, conjectured that what we were seeing was not so much about the cup itself, but more a manifestation of the feuding tribes in Downing Street.

Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) Why does this feel like it has less to do with the disposable cup and more to do with a long simmering power struggle between the two aides? The evils they exchange are👌🏽pic.twitter.com/17dbOQLkYP

It isn’t the only video of Boris Johnson in Manchester that has gone viral this week. There has been a huge amount of social media interest in a clip of Johnson arriving at party conference and being pelted with plastic balls by protesters.

Just one problem for those sharing the clip – it was from a previous Tory conference in Manchester in 2015. Four people were arrested after the incident, where they were protesting against cuts to disability benefits.

Johnson made light of the incident later in the afternoon, tweeting “I got my coffee in the end” with a picture of him drinking from a non-disposable “Get Brexit done” mug.