Osborne Is Booed by Paralympics Crowd at London Medal Ceremony

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was booed by spectators when he handed out medals to winners at the London Paralympics.

Boos rang out around the 80,000-capacity athletics stadium in the Olympic Park, as Osborne was introduced to the crowd at the start of a ceremony for a men’s 400-meter track event last night, television pictures showed.

The incident took place as Prime Minister David Cameron was finishing preparations for a revamp of his Cabinet, a reorganization that will leave Osborne in his position. An ICM poll for the Guardian newspaper last week found 48 percent of respondents saying the chancellor should lose his job.

Britain is striving to climb out of its second slump in three years, and calls for the government to do more to spur the economy have intensified as the largest budget reductions since World War II and the euro-area debt crisis have hurt demand.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

Enlarge image

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

George Osborne, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, takes part in a medal ceremony at the Paralympic Games in in London.

George Osborne, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, takes part in a medal ceremony at the Paralympic Games in in London. Photographer: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images