An Irish MEP has become an internet sensation after being spotted on a European Parliament conference call without any trousers on.
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan joined the video call to discuss agriculture policy on the EU Parliament's official live broadcast on Wednesday.
But his fellow contributors struggled to concentrate after realising that the independent MEP had inadvertently tilted his iPad to portrait mode, exposing his bare legs.
Mr Flanagan, who belongs to the left-wing Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left faction, wore a dark blue shirt on his top half as he sat on the edge of an unmade bed.
His wardrobe malfunction caused interpreters translating the call to burst out laughing.
After the clip went viral on social media, the MEP laughed off the incident and claimed he had just returned from a run and was wearing exercise shorts.
The politician, who had been calling in from his home in county Roscommon in the west of Ireland, admitted that he had hurriedly put on a shirt in an attempt "to look kinda respectable" on the call.
He added: "That didn’t work out very well."
Who could have known that my legs would be so popular. Should I get them insured?
— Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (@lukeming)June 3, 2020
Mr Flanagan’s nickname is taken from the Flash Gordon character, while Twitter users quickly re-dubbed him Ming the Trouserless.
The MEP responded: ”Who could have known that my legs would be so popular. Should I get them insured?"
