PM admits British reserve over Carla kiss 02/04/2008 00:00

Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted Tuesday to suffering from typical British reserve, when questioned about kissing France's first lady.

   LONDON, April 2, 2008 - Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted Tuesday to suffering from typical British reserve, when questioned about kissing
France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy last week.
   "She was a very popular visitor to Britain," he said, when a reporter asked
whether his wife Sarah had commented on widely-printed photos of him kissing
the former supermodel on the cheek in Downing Street.
   "Both of us were very pleased to welcome her and we continue to look
forward to meeting her again," he told reporters at his monthly press
conference, before adding shyly that "British reserve" prevented him from
saying more.
   The 40-year-old singer, who married French President Nicolas Sarkozy in
February, made a huge splash during a state visit here last week, with
pictures of her all over the British press for at least two days.
   Meanwhile, Brown also ducked out of a question on politicians' sex lives.
   Nick Clegg, leader of Britain's third party the Liberal Democrats, got
tongues wagging when he admitted in a magazine interview this week that he has had up to 30 lovers.
   Asked what he thought about this, Brown answered simply: "He taught me
another lesson: not to talk about these things at all."

AFP