Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was the focus of unwanted attention recently after he boarded a British Airways flight en route to London from Oman when it made a stopover in Abu Dhabi. Prior to Mr Brown and his entourage getting on to the plane a number of passengers were told that due to an issue with overbooking they would have to move out of business class to a cheaper seat.

Although Mr Brown’s office and the airline have denied that this was anything to do with the former PM, his appearance in premium class angered a number of those who had been told to give up their seats. One woman who was pregnant tried to take a picture of Mr Brown so that she could send it to BA along with a complaint.

As she did so she allegedly incurred the wrath of one of Mr Brown’s aides, Kirsty McNeill. Talking about the incident, the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she blamed the airline more than Mr Brown for the confusion but described Ms McNeill as seriously unpleasant.

A spokeswoman for the British flag-carrier said the overbooking issue had absolutely nothing to do with Mr Brown and confirmed that he and his companions had booked their seats well in advance. She added that it was extremely rare to have to ask passengers to move out of the cabin they had booked a seat in and that apologies had been offered.

Mr Brown’s office confirmed that at no point did he receive any special treatment from BA.