David Cameron caught saying Yorkshire people 'hate each other'
David Cameron has been caught off-camera talking about people in Yorkshire "hating each other".
The Prime Minister was picked up on a microphone saying: "We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn't think they hated each other so much."
Mr Cameron has since dismissed the comment as a joke and said "two of the greatest living Yorkshiremen" - cricketer Geoffrey Boycott and umpire Dickie Bird - agreed with him.
Mr Cameron made the comments while preparing for a speech in Leeds on reform of public services.
The Prime Minister was swiftly criticised on Twitter with users calling him "arrogant" and "toffee-nosed".
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Test Match Special during a visit to Headingley to see England's cricket team take on Australia in a one-day international, Mr Cameron said it was a joke.
"One of my aides had said to me that there were five or six different bids from Yorkshire for devolution, different ideas from different parts of Yorkshire," he said.
"I joked, saying that I thought Yorkshiremen had it in for everyone else but not for each other - or words to that effect.
"It was a total joke but it's been picked up and I suspect I will be getting a bit of gyp for this.
"But I've been absolved by two of the greatest living Yorkshiremen. I repeated what I said to Geoffrey Boycott and Dickie Bird and they said 'It's a joke, that's absolutely fine', so I think absolution from those two Yorkshiremen - I hope that will be enough to see me through."