Brown crib sheet reveals bathtime 'ad lib'
Updated on 23 April 2010
"These two guys remind me of my two boys at bathtime," quipped Gordon Brown during the debate – but a close-up of the prime minister’s notes show his ad lib was not exactly off-the-cuff.
One of Gordon Brown's first put-downs during last night's second leaders debate was to compare a bickering David Cameron and Nick Clegg with his two young sons at bathtime.
But a photograph taken over his shoulder during the debate suggests it was not an improvised remark.
The photograph also shows Mr Brown had several other pre-prepared ad libs up his sleeve, not all of which were used during the televised discussion.
There is a reference to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? ("You can phone a friend, you can ask the audience, you can go 50-50 with Nick"), as well as a couple of soundbites ("Slogans, not solutions", "Right versus wrong").
And the word "risk" appears several times on the crib sheet.
In addition, there are some hand-written notes at the top of the page. The word "Mary" refers to one of the questioners from the audience. And the more prominently displayed "Hands" is presumably a note to self.
