Hague Caught Bunking Off

Hague Caught Bunking Off In London Shopping Centre

William Hague was questioned by police today after he was apparently found
bunking off in Whiteleys Shopping Centre in Bayswater, London.

Staff noticed the Leader of the Opposition wandering aimlessly through the
shopping centre for most of the morning and were concerned he might cause a
disturbance or harass shoppers. Security guards followed Mr. Hague as he rode
on escalators and strolled through a number of stores, including Dixons and
Virgin.

"It was obvious he shouldn't be there at that time of day," said one employee
who saw Mr. Hague, "I was worried he might start causing trouble so I called
the police."

Two police officers approached the MP and asked him what he was doing at the
shopping centre at that time. According to witnesses, an embarrassed Mr. Hague
was unable to provide a convincing answer and he was escorted from the
premises and driven back to Conservative Party HQ where he was supposed to
be coordinating the Tory election campaign.

Party spokesman Sebastian Coe later released a statement claiming the incident
was the result of a momentary lack of supervision and that steps were already
in place to prevent it happening again.

The incident comes as further embarrassment for Mr. Hague, who last week
left his dry cleaning in a taxi and was forced to conduct Prime Minister's
Questions in his pants.