London (CNN) You know things are going badly when even the writing on the wall falls off. British Prime Minister Theresa May's attempt to relaunch her faltering premiership was badly derailed Wednesday when a keynote speech was marred by an interruption from a prankster, a prolonged coughing fit and finally the disintegration of the stage set behind her. An often excruciating address to members of her party was punctuated by coughs, splutters and brief interludes to sip water. May, who lost her overall governing majority in the last election, had hoped to relaunch her premiership with her keynote speech. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May holds up a throat lozenge given to her by Britain's Chancellor Philip Hammond .

Source: CNN October 04, 2017 12:26 UTC