‘She’s awful’: How the UK press covered Thorpe outburst

The British press seized on Lidia Thorpe’s expletives-filled disturbance, replaying vision of the shock incident.

The UK press have labelled Senator Lidia Thorpe “awful” and her actions a “disgrace” after the MP’s fiery confrontation with King Charles and Queen Camilla during their Australian tour.

Thorpe, an Aboriginal Australian independent MP, accused the British monarchs of “genocide” during a parliamentary reception on Monday.

The 51-year-old, a senator for Victoria, yelled “give us our land back”, “f**k the colony” and “you are not my king” during the event in Parliament House, Canberra.

The British tabloids seized on the expletives-filled disturbance, airing vision of the shock incident on their websites.

The Sun headline screamed: “SHE’S AWFUL’: Charles heckler should be ashamed for appalling behaviour – it’s a disgrace”.

The Sun's headline.

The Sun also played footage of the expletive-filled incident.

The Daily Mail UK edition headline read: “A warm reception, sincere thanks and then … profanities screamed by Lidia Thorpe”.
The story noted security officials acted quickly but the shock was palpable as guests struggled to work out “what on earth was happening”.

The Daily Mail UK’s coverage of the Lidia Thorpe outburst.

The Guardian UK on Tuesday ran with British PM Keir Starmer praising King Charles response amid the chaotic incident.

“Keir Starmer praises Charles after king was heckled in Australia”, their headline reads.

The article goes on to note: “UK PM says monarch is doing a fantastic job after protest by senator in Australian parliament.”

The Guardian UK article on Lidia Thorpe

The Express on Tuesday ran an article by a reporter that was in the room when the protest unfolded under the headline: “I was in the room when a rogue protester verbally assaulted King Charles”.

The Express had a reporter in the room when the incident happened.

The Times said the Palace had been “blindsided” by the “indigenous rights protest in Australia”.

The King took Ms Thorpe’s outburst in his stride, The Times said, but “given his bond with Australia’s native leaders, it was an attack from an unexpected quarter”.

The Telegraph said the King should be cheered by the Australian outrage over the incident, describing the royals as steadfast in the face of a “shameful outburst that had Australians everywhere rolling their eyes”.

Meanwhile, Thorpe is embroiled in another royals controversy after she shared a cartoon showing King Charles being beheaded.

She said the image was uploaded “without her knowledge” and she has now “deleted it”.

The cartoon was first created by Matt Chun, coeditor of the anti-imperialist publication, The Sunday Paper, and was then reposted on Ms Thorpe’s Instagram account.

Originally published as ‘She’s awful’: How the UK press covered Thorpe outburst