People think Boris Johnson faked an 11am minute’s silence – but there’s a simple explanation

Internet sleuths are up in arms about a photo of Boris Johnson observing an 11am minute’s silence.

On a photo posted to his Twitter account, the Prime Minister said he was marking the Plymouth shooting which occurred last week with this sign of respect.

However people thought otherwise, zooming into his watch and noticing it was closer to 11.15am, not 11am as he – and the clock in the background – claimed.

They were quick to call him out.

The silence was marked by people across the UK and was organised by Plymouth city council as a sign of respect for the victims of the shooting. Maxine Davison, 51, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, were killed in the attack on Thursday, along with father and daughter Lee Martyn, 43, and Sophie Martyn, three.

The Prime Minister earlier branded the attack “absolutely appalling” and the government announced people who apply for a gun licence will be subjected to social media checks.

As much as we would like to indulge in a conspiracy that Johnson rattles about faking time, there seems to be a simple explanation as to why his watch was set to the future.

A Downing Street official insisted the photo was definitely taken at 11am – and the PM’s watch was simply running 14 minutes fast, according to The Mirror.

Meanwhile, Guido Fawkes conducted an Mi5 worthy investigation into the matter. In an article published to their website they revealed that they had analysed the timestamps of the photos to prove Johnson sets his watch fast consistently.

That the Prime Minister needs to trick himself into thinking he is living 12 minutes in the future to ensure he is not late for engagements is, of course, not ideal. But that appears to be exactly what is happening.