Boris Johnson lost his place while delivering a speech to business leaders on Monday.
In an address to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, the prime minister also impersonated a car’s engine “brmm-brmm” sound.
And he asked the audience: “Hands up who’s been to Peppa Pig World?”
The purpose of the speech was to insist his “levelling-up” agenda was a “moral mission” as well as a necessary move for the economy.
But mid-way through a characteristically rambling delivery, Johnson stopped to flip through the sheets of paper on his lectern.
“Forgive me,” he told his audience as they waited for him to continue. “Forgive me.”
In response to the speech, the Labour Party said: “The joke’s not funny anymore.”
Johnson later defended his speech. “I thought it went over well,” he told reporters.
It comes after weeks of bad headlines for Johnson amid a series of headlines about accusations of sleaze in the Tory party.
He is also under pressure from MPs over the government’s decision to downgrade plans to expand the rail network across the country.
And he faces a rebellion from backbench Tory MPs this evening over how social care will be paid for.
