For anyone who has ever arrived late\u00a0to work, an apology will usually suffice. But for\u00a0one British lord, it was too late to just say sorry.<\/p>\n
It took less than 60 seconds for Michael Bates to arrive late, apologize profusely, offer his resignation and then leave the House of Lords on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to offer my sincere apologies to Baroness Lister for my discourtesy in not being in my place to answer her question on a very important matter at the beginning of questions,\u201d the\u00a0international development minister said, standing up in front of his peers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the five years in which it\u2019s been my privilege to answer questions from this dispatch box on behalf of the government, I\u2019ve always believed that we should rise to the highest possible standards of courtesy and respect in responding on behalf of the government to the legitimate questions of the legislature,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Although he was just a couple of minutes late, Bates went on to say: \u201cI am thoroughly ashamed at not being in my place and therefore I shall be offering my resignation to the prime minister … with immediate effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do apologize,\u201d said Bates as he gathered his belongings and swiftly exited the chamber.<\/p>\n
Witnessing an apology turn into a resignation in a matter of seconds was simply too much for Bates\u2019s stunned peers.<\/p>\n
In the dramatic video, other politicians can be heard exclaiming\u00a0\u201cNo!\u201d from their seats. While some laughed in disbelief, others attempted to reach out and pull Bates back to the chamber.<\/p>\n
After\u00a0Bates\u2019s resignation, Baroness Smith of Basildon interrupted the beginning of another speech to say: \u201cAn apology from Lord Bates is perfectly sufficient. It was a minor discourtesy of which any of us can be guilty of on occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talking to the Guardian, Baroness\u00a0Lister said she has asked Bates to reconsider\u00a0his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf all the ministers I\u2019d want to cause to resign, he\u2019d be the last,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Some hours after the spectacular resignation, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Theresa May (who is on a trip to China) said: \u201cWith typical sincerity, Lord Bates today offered to tender his resignation, but his resignation was refused as it was judged this was unnecessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a hard-working and diligent minister, it is typical of his approach that he takes his responsibilities to Parliament so seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
On social media, puzzled and amused Twitter users celebrated Bates\u2019s decision to remain in his role.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad to see Lord Bates has been persuaded to remain!\u201d read one tweet.<\/p>\n
\u201cLate Lord Bates\u00a0has dramatically unresigned!\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Washington Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For anyone who has ever arrived late\u00a0to work, an apology will usually suffice. But for\u00a0one British lord, it was too late to just say sorry. It took less than 60 seconds for Michael Bates to arrive late, apologize profusely, offer his resignation and then leave the House of Lords on Wednesday. \u201cI want to offer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":397199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107,117],"tags":[16694,16693,16695,16696,10698,798],"yoast_head":"\n