What You Need to Know About David Cameron’s #Piggate, the Controversy Sweeping the U.K.

David Cameron has been caught in a media storm after a former billionaire Tory donor released pages from his tell-all book on the British prime minister. While some of the allegations may point towards corruption, the one that has the Twitterverse laughing non-stop involves a dead pig and the prime minister’s private parts.

From The Guardian:

An unofficial biography of David Cameron written by the Conservative donor Lord Ashcroft has made a series of claims about his involvement in a drug-taking environment at university, a bizarre dinner club initiation ritual and his knowledge of the peer’s offshore tax status.

The publication of extracts in the Daily Mail, two weeks before the Tories’ autumn conference, is a sign of how far Ashcroft has fallen out with the prime minister, who is said not to have followed through on a promise to give him a significant job after the 2010 general election.

The book, co-written by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, alleges that Cameron knew in 2009 that Ashcroft had non-dom tax status. When a row about this blew up just before the 2010 election, the prime minister claimed only to have been aware about it for a month.

The biography also makes claims about Cameron’s alleged exploits at university, saying an MP had seen photographic evidence that he put a private part of his body into a dead pig’s head as part of a dining club initiation ritual.

Read more about the controversy as it unravels on The Guardian’s live feed.

The Tory administration has refused to comment on the controversy thus far, leaving tweeters to tweet to their hearts’ content. And boy have they been tweeting. Here are some of the highlights of #piggate:

I did not, have, sexual, relations, with that, pig.

— HannahJane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) September 20, 2015

20 minutes into destroying the fabric of society and chill and he gives you this look. #piggate pic.twitter.com/3g4AW79oBa

— Jono Yates (@jonoBLITZ) September 20, 2015

“Morning Sir. Cornflakes for breakfast: we cancelled the bacon delivery. Also, you should sit down…” #piggate pic.twitter.com/dYJBUm7Tx4

— Jane Samuels (@JaneSamuels) September 20, 2015

It seems even the Russian Embassy in the U.K. got in on the fun:

Fair play Russian embassy #piggate pic.twitter.com/xpxJCsjeLn

— ALVX WILSON (@adjwilson) September 20, 2015

And so did the Liberal Democrats’ leader:

I’ve never been more pleased to be a vegetarian.

— Tim Farron (@timfarron) September 20, 2015

Read other British politicians reactions here.

And for those of us across the pond, this Tweet may sum up our reactions:

American Twitter watching #piggate unfold pic.twitter.com/eLCecZcu0P

— Juliet Mushens (@mushenska) September 20, 2015

Meanwhile, the Labour Party’s newly-elected Jeremy Corbyn is moving forward with his plans to renationalize the U.K.‘s railways, which are in shambles.

And through it all, as many have pointed out on social media, it’s important not to lose sight of the truly reprehensible things Cameron has done and is continuing to do to his country and beyond. Though, perhaps after a good chuckle is had at his expense.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata

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