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Er, did he really mean to say that? Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling committed the ultimate gaffe when asked by the BBC's Emily Maitlis to comment on Sir Richard Dannatt joining a future Tory government.
Somehow, Mr Grayling assumed that it was a Labour appointment - so he condemned in scathing terms.
"I hope that this isn't a political gimmick," protested Mr Grayling. "We've seen too many appointments in this government of external people where it's all been about Gordon Brown's PR.
"General Dannatt's an experienced figure and should rightly be working alongside government. But I'm always suspicious of government's motives when it does things like this."
His mistake was the talk of the Manchester conference, where observers said it was worthy of a scene from Yes Minister or The Thick Of It.
But Labour said it showed that Mr Grayling would condemn any Labour announcement without thinking it through.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "Chris Grayling is so keen to do Britain down, he'll attack anything - including his own party."
A deeply embarrassed Mr Grayling later went on TV to correct his message and say he was actually "really delighted".
"There was a misunderstanding in the TV studio and I misheard the question," he said.
"I would have liked to have given General Dannatt a more enthusiastic welcome."
Reader views (2)
Thanks, Mr Grayling. Couldn't have put it better myself.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
At last some real news from Manchester. Shadow Cabinet Member says what he thinks. If only Osborne had told us how he really thinks about punishing hopeless and greedy Bankers.
- C Morgan, Kensington England
