Tory MP who confused 'Brexit' for 'breakfast' reveals he has dyslexia

'There are many people out there who, just from the fear of their dyslexia, wouldn’t dream of walking on a stage,' says Andrew Davies

The mantra of “Brexit means Brexit” might have been repeatedly drummed into the British public but it seems that for Andrew Davies Brexit means something else altogether: breakfast.

Addressing the Tory party conference in Birmingham on Wednesday, the Welsh Conservative leader attempted to emulate Theresa May’s famous platitude of “Brexit means Brexit and we’re going to make a success of it” but winded up touting the first and most important meal of the day.

“Conference, mark my words. We will make breakfast, Brexit, a success,” the politician said. Footage of the gaffe quickly went viral on social media.

Nevertheless, Davies has now explained that he has dyslexia and he struggled to follow his speech on autocue.

Davies explained he found out he had the condition in primary school but at the time people did not realise it was dyslexia.

“There are many people out there who, just from the fear of their dyslexia, wouldn’t dream of walking on a stage,” Davies told The Times. “So, if in some very small way you can give confidence to others to show you can overcome it and that, ultimately, you can succeed and that you shouldn’t allow it to hold you back, then I think that’s a pretty good result.”

“We didn’t really realise it was called dyslexia,” he added. “At the time, back in the late Seventies, these types of things weren’t particularly identified. You were just thought of as being a bit slow.”

He explained that, on the whole, he had managed to overcome problems linked to his dyslexia by learning speeches off by heart and using notes written out in bullet form.

Davies said he felt the speech had been “overshadowed” by the brexit blunder and he had been shocked to see how far news of the story spread. “At the end of the day, sometimes you do need a bit of humour. It’s just a bit surprising when you hit Australian prime-time news," he said.