Call him “Lionel Blunder”?
The editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, had to hastily delete a tweet in which he bragged about being secretly awarded France’s highest honor for his “positive” role in the Brexit debate, Guido Fawkes blog reports.
Barber deleted a tweet he posted along with a letter from the French ambassador saying he’d been appointed as a Chevalier in the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur—France’s highest order for military and civil merit. The tweet appears to have been intended as a direct message to a user referred to as “LW.”
“France wants to recognise your remarkable career, your contribution to high-quality journalism, and the Financial Times’ positive role in the European debate,” the letter read.
But Barber himself acknowledged in the tweet that the award was not “good publicity in the UK right now,” which is why he was sharing the letter “confidentially.”
But it wasn’t so confidential, as the tweet mistakenly ended on Barber’s public Twitter stream for everyone to see, a rookie mistake that has come back to bite many a politician (like former New York representative Anthony Weiner).
Ahead of the June referendum to decide whether Britain would remain in the EU, the Financial Times had enthusiastically urged its readers to vote to stay part of the European Union, warning that a “leave” vote would amount to a “gratuitous act of self-harm.” Ultimately, Britain voted to leave, which has provoked no shortage of hand-wringing over what means for Britain’s—and Europe’s—future.
Barber is one of only a handful of foreign personalities to have received the Legion d’Honneur. The list includes the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, British author JK Rowling, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and singer Bob Dylan.
