British PM Theresa May accused of stealing a line from political drama series The West Wing for conference speech

SHE was widely ridiculed for her cough-ridden speech at her party’s annual conference, and now British PM Theresa May has been accused of stealing lines from a popular TV show.

IT was a speech that was already riddled with mishaps, but now sharp-eyed viewers are questioning whether UK Prime Minister Theresa May also stole lines from TV series The West Wing.

During the Tory Party conference on Wednesday, Mrs May’s speech — which was intended to help strengthen her hold on the leadership — was disrupted by a prankster, a coughing fit and a falling backdrop.

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses delegates during a speech at the Conservative Party Conference. Picture: AP Photo/Rui Vieira

Now, some people are accusing her of plagiarism after having noticed a striking resemblance between part of her speech and one made by Martin Sheen’s character President Josiah Barlett on the American political drama.

Unbelievable! It gets worse. Part of Theresa May's conference speech was plagiarised from the American political comedy drama The West Wing!

— Labour Insider (@Labour_Insider) October 4, 2017

I just can’t believe that Theresa May’s speech copies a line from the West Wing #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/yPn0XMA2gD

— Stanners (@cheesecakebase) October 5, 2017

In an attempt to boost her party’s morale, the British Prime Minister said: “It’s when tested the most that we reach deep within ourselves and find that our capacity to rise to the challenge before us may well be limitless.”

While the line delivered by character President Barlett in the hit TV show was: “Every time we think we’ve measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we’re reminded that that capacity may well be limitless.”

Reality follows fiction when Theresa May appears to plagiarise Emmy Award winning TV drama The West Wing. #Brexit pic.twitter.com/uanpDguc1H

— Oliver Darko (@oliver_drk) October 5, 2017

May’s speech has been compared with one made by Martin Sheen on The West Wing.

The line appears in a two-part episode in Season 4, titled 20 Hours in America. It aired in 2002. It is part of a speech that Barlett delivers following a university bombing.

After everything that went wrong with @theresa_may's speech, it looks like she might have plagiarised The West Wing #awkward #CPC17 pic.twitter.com/pFJo9vTM0Z

— Bobby Rae (@BobyRae) October 4, 2017

SO Theresa May's speechwriter is a fan of the West Wing. pic.twitter.com/FGElRNju9Y

— Raphael Hogarth (@Raphael_Hogarth) October 3, 2017

According to The Mirror, Mrs May’s team have denied that the line was plagiarised.