英首相卡梅伦买咖啡插队遭训斥

The fury over the ill-fated pasty tax should have warned David Cameron to stay well clear of Britain’s high street eateries. But the prime minister wandered into a café for a cup of coffee to a decidedly frosty reception – when he was told to get in line by an acid-tongued waitress.

If that wasn’t enough, when he turned tail the premier was given a ticking off for taking his custom next door.

Mr Cameron was visiting Plymouth for Armed Forces Day when he stopped at The Sandwich Box Plus in search of a pick-me-up.

Café worker Sheila Thomas failed to recognise the Tory leader and told him she was busy serving other customers.

‘I didn’t realize it was him at first,’ she said.

‘I was in the middle of serving a customer so I was running around trying to do something and didn’t take too much notice, to be honest.

‘He asked if we served takeaway coffee and I said, “Yes but I’m in the middle of serving somebody” and he said, “I’m so sorry”. It was only afterwards somebody told me it was the prime minister.’

After a ten-minute wait, Mr Cameron’s aides popped to Warrens bakery next door to buy the peckish premier a jam doughnut and a cup of tea.

He sat outside in the sunshine before heading back inside The Sandwich Box to pose for a photograph with teenager Josh King.

But Mrs Thomas had words with Mr Cameron when he returned. ‘He came back in afterwards and I told him off for not getting a coffee here,’ she said. ‘He shook hands and was very pleasant.’

The incident comes after other recent forays into the ‘real world’ backfired.

Last month the prime minister left his eight-year-old daughter Nancy in a Buckinghamshire pub after a Sunday family meal.

And on holiday in Italy last year, he was forced to carry a tray of drinks to his table when a waitress told him she didn’t have time.

He left without tipping but returned later to make amends.

卡梅伦早该警觉人们对注定倒霉的馅饼税的愤怒，远离主街道上的食品店。但首相却踱入一家咖啡店买咖啡，结果遭到店员的断然冷待——一位刻薄的女店员要他排队等候，不要插队。

这还不够，当他折回咖啡店的时候，这位首相又因携带邻家餐点入店再遭数落。

那天，卡梅伦正要前往普利茅斯出席军人节庆祝大会，他把车停在The Sandwich Box Plus店外，想进去买杯咖啡提提神。

咖啡店员工席拉•托马斯并未认出这位保守党领袖，告诉卡梅伦说她现在很忙，正在为其他顾客服务。

她说：“我一开始根本没意识到是他。”

“我正在为一位顾客服务，跑来跑去地干这干那，确实没太在意。”

“他问我这里有没有外卖咖啡，我说‘有，但我正在为别的顾客服务。’他就对我说，‘很抱歉。’事后才有人告诉我，刚才那位客人是首相。”

卡梅伦等待了10分钟还没买到咖啡，于是卡梅伦的助手赶紧到隔壁Warrens面包店买了一个果酱甜甜圈和一杯热茶拿给饥肠辘辘的首相。

卡梅伦坐在店外明媚的阳光下喝茶，随后重新进入The Sandwich Box与一名叫乔希•金的少年合影。

但当卡梅伦再次进入店内时，席拉又责备了他。“他后来回来的时候我责备他带着别家的咖啡进店，”她说：“但他态度非常友好，一点也不在意，继续跟店里的人握手。”

最近，在此事发生之前，首相就曾试图体察“真实世界”却反遭诟病。

上个月，卡梅伦在周日家庭聚餐后将8岁的女儿南希落在了白金汉郡的一家酒馆。

去年在意大利度假时，他不得不自己用托盘将酒水端回餐桌，因为服务员告诉他她没时间。

他走的时候没有付小费，但后来又回来补付。