Barack Obama repeatedly called Chancellor George Osborne “Jeffrey” as he was briefing G8 leaders on his plans for a crackdown on tax avoidance, media reported on Thursday.
The US president three times said he agreed fully with “Jeffrey” during his presentation on the government’s flagship scheme, leaving the chancellor red-faced.
Realising his mistake afterwards, Obama joked that he had mistaken Osborne for the US R&B and soul singer Jeffrey Osborne, the Sun and Financial Times reported.
The chancellor, 42, bears little resemblance to Jeffrey Osborne, a 65-year-old African-American hit singer-songwriter from Rhode Island known for his 1982 classic “On the Wings of Love”.
Jeffrey Osborne told Sky News on Thursday: “I was really delighted actually. I was really not aware that (Obama) was that much of a fan that he would call the Chancellor Jeffrey Osborne.
The Sun quoted an onlooker at the session as saying: “Osborne looked really put out.
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