Sir Keir Starmer has stoked the fury of Lancastrians after he tweeted there would be zero-tolerance in ‘hotpot areas’.
The comedy typo was made during a pledge on X, formerly Twitter, to create 13,000 extra police officers and PCSOs.
It meant the Labour leader’s message about strengthening policing was lost on many of his 1,400,000 followers.
Most saw the funny side as a surge of memes appeared on social media blasting the Lancashire hotpot, poking fun at Sir Keir’s gaffe.
‘Those hotpot areas need sorting out. B****y Lancastrians,’ wrote one user.
A proud Lancastrian wrote: ‘As a man born in Lancashire, this is the last straw.
‘Labour being weak-willed I can deal with, but being anti-hotpot I can’t.’
One man tweeted: ‘What has Labour got against hotpot? Is it a particular recipe they oppose or hotpot in general? This won’t win them votes in Lancashire.’
A person posted a picture of an arrest, adding: ‘What is the charge? Eating a hotpot? A succulent Lancashire hotpot?’
Journalist Jason Reid wrote: ‘Zero-tolerance in hotpot areas? Betty will be spinning in her grave,’ alongside a pic of Coronation Street’s famous cook Betty Williams.
The Lancashire hotpot is a famous stew named after the county in northwest England. It is made up of lamb and onion, with sliced potatoes on top, slowly baked in a pot at a low heat.
But beyond the jokes, the Labour leader’s pronouncements around tackling knife crime are hitting headlines.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail yesterday, Sir Keir suggested parents should consider handing knives into amnesties to help prevent violence.
Yesterday he unveiled a plan to tackle the ‘epidemic’ of knife crime – promising to end ‘apology letters’ that allow youths carrying blades to dodge charges.
Instead, under Labour he said every offender would be given a ‘bespoke action plan’ to prevent reoffending – alongside parental interventions.
Launching the £100 million a year plan on a visit to Milton Keynes police station yesterday, Sir Keir told the Mail that he was ‘struck’ by how many parents hand in blades to the authorities.