Jeremy Hunt tells broadcasters to ‘grow up’ and stop calling him ‘Jeremy C***’

‘I had this when I was at school,’ foreign secretary says

Jeremy Hunt has demanded broadcasters “grow up” and stop mistakenly referring to him by the C-word when trying to pronounce his surname.

On Tuesday, BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire followed a host of TV and radio personalities by accidentally referring to the foreign secretary as “Jeremy C***” live on-air.

Addressing Conservative MP Steve Brine, Derbyshire said: “You say the man you are backing, Jeremy C***...”

“I’m so sorry, Jeremy Hunt. I’ve never said that before in my life. It’s normally men who say that so I really, really want to apologise.”

Others who have made the gaffe include Sky News reporter Thomas Moore, BBC journalists Justin Webb and James Naughtie, as well as presenter Nicky Campbell just last week.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph’s Brexit Podcast on Thursday, Mr Hunt urged broadcasters to stop and revealed he was regularly called “Jeremy C***’ by classmates at school.

“I’m used to it. I had this when I was at school. Personally I think people should just grow up and get over the fact that my last name rhymes with a rather unpleasant word,” he said.

Mr Hunt, who came second to Boris Johnson in the first ballot to select the next Tory leader, also defended his privileged upbringing after rival Sajid Javid said the Conservatives had to leave “the same old school ties” behind.

"British people aren’t interested in your background; they’re interested in what you want to do, whether you can change the country for the better,” said Mr Hunt, who sent to Charterhouse boarding school.

"We have to stop talking about backgrounds and get onto who’s got the best plan for the country … I don’t have an old school tie.”