Did I Really Say That?

We all know what it feels like to put our foot in it, and if you're a politician, the opportunities for doing so are endless. Here, for our entertainment, Matthew Parris collects history's best slip-ups, hostages to fortune, errors of judgement, deliberate falsehoods, unintended truthfulness and straight-up gaffes.

From the Italian diplomat who thought 'quiche' was pronounced 'quickie', to the best of Brexit and Donald Trump, there's enough between these pages to give aspiring statesmen nightmares for weeks. If last year you enjoyed the pleasures of Scorn, this year you can delight in some well-earned political schadenfreude, and a reminder that the great and the good are only human after all.