Tory MP Peter Bone accidentally rinses Conservative colleague George Eustice by calling him ‘George Useless’

Freud said there is no such thing as an accident. If he was right, then that is a real shame for George Eustice.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four, Tory MP Peter Bone threw his colleague under the bus by referring to the Environment Minister not as “George Eustice” but as “George Useless”, much to the delight of those on social media.

“George Useless was also not correct,” he said, not appearing to notice his error until the presenter intervened and corrected him. “It is early in the morning, at least for me anyway,” he replied with a chuckle.

His comments came amid a conversation about the government’s mixed messaging about travel. Despite it now being legal to leave the country – with a fun traffic lights system to make you feel really safe – many ministers have said people should not do so.

Boris Johnson said people should only travel to amber list countries if they absolutely have to, while Eustice/Useless said they can do if they quarantine upon return.

For his part, Bone said: “I think we could be a little bit more ambitious with the green list. But we are moving in the right direction.”

However, it seemed he was still bitter about the mixed messaging and could not hide it, and despite his backtracking, the damage was already done and people on social media were quick to point out his mistake with glee:

Meanwhile, journalist Paul Waugh said the nickname comes from an old Daily Mirror cartoon strip from the 1960s. He said some Conservatives have adopted the nickname for their colleague, which we are sure Eustice is thrilled about.

Perhaps Bone is still angry with Eustice about horses. In an exchange in the House of Commons in February, Bone asked Eustice if he would meet with him to discuss how flooding affects horses across the country. He failed to answer the question and instead said the death of horses was “tragic”.

Useless.