Sadly, a librarian wasn't trolling Boris Johnson with an arrangement of books

On Wednesday, the internet was briefly obsessed with an arrangement of books behind Boris Johnson in a school library.

The prime minister was speaking to students as they prepared to go back to school following the coronavirus pandemic, with new restrictions in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Johnson's speech was nothing out of the ordinary and was eventually a set of books on the top shelf positioned directly behind him that grabbed the headlines.

These books were The Subtle Knife, Fahrenheit 451, Betrayed, The Resistance, The Toll, Crisis Point, Glass Houses, and The Twits. Many, including numerous news sites, put two and two together and determined that whoever had put those books on the shelf had done so to mock the prime minister and his government.

However, all is not what it seems. Thanks to a report by Huffington Postit has been revealed that the books were deliberately arranged to make a point – but not about Johnson.

The former staff member, who has asked not to be named, claims the books have been standing there in that arrangement for six months. According to the former librarian, the books were a "message to school management" before she left in February over a lack of support for the job.

It was a message for senior management, so I suppose it’s nice that they’ve not finally got it, and if it helps any of the other staff that are still stuck there then all the better. Whatever happens, they’ll probably take more notice of the background next time the prime minister does a speech.

Castle Rock School in Leicestershire, where the prime minister spoke told Huffington Postthat they were "unaware of any 'covert message' left through the arrangement of books."

So, while it was a message to someone that someone wasn't Boris Johnson. Sorry everyone. Not everything you see on