THE wife of a Tory Minister has issued a hilarious response to an awkward news gaffe that mistakenly claimed that her husband is gay.
Felicity Cornelius-Mercer is the wife of Johnny Mercer, current Government Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the MP for Plymouth Moor View.
Johnny, 41, was incorrectly labelled as “Plymouth’s first gay MP” in a news piece from Pink News on Monday, despite being married for nine years and having three children.
Despite the embarrassing gaff, the MP and wife Felicity, 43, appear to have taken it in their stride, with the latter poking fun at Pink News’ mistake online.
The news piece focused on MPs clashing over reforms to the Equality Act, and had claimed that Johnny had doubled down on his support for the trans community in his contribution to the debate.
Despite being amended, eagle-eyed readers were quick to pick up on the gaff, with several taking to social media to blast the new outlet.
One user flagged up the error, saying: “Hi Pink News – a quick FYI. You state in the piece that Johnny Mercer is ‘Plymouth’s first gay MP.
“Would that be the same Johnny Mercer who’s married to a woman and has three kids. C’mon, this is basic stuff.”
Felicity, who works in her husband’s office in the House of Commons, replied to the user, simply writing: “Awkward” along with a blushing emoji.
A second user also screenshotted the article’s mistake, adding: “Just checking, but did Pink News just out Johnny Mercer?”
Felicity was quick to get in on the joke again, quipping: “He told me it was just a one off” with a sad emoji.
She later added jokingly: “I’ve had my suspicions for a long time.
“My family would like to request privacy over this difficult time. It has been a shock but ultimately only wish for his happiness. Thank you.”
Pink News has since amended the article, which was in fact intended to be about Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devenport, who is Plymouth’s first openly gay MP.
