Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted on Tuesday to suffering from typical 'British reserve', when questioned about kissing France's first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy last week.
"She was a very popular visitor to Britain," he said, when a reporter asked whether his wife Sarah had
commented on widely-printed photos of him kissing the former supermodel on the cheek in Downing Street.
"Both of us were very pleased to welcome her and we continue to look forward to meeting her again," he told reporters at his monthly press conference, before adding shyly that 'British reserve' prevented him from saying more.
The 40-year-old singer, who married French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February, made a huge splash during a state visit here last week, with pictures of her all over the British press for at least two days.
Meanwhile, Brown also ducked out of a question on politicians' sex lives. Nick Clegg, leader of Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats, got tongues wagging when he admitted in a magazine interview this week that he has had up to 30 lovers.
Asked what he thought about this, Brown answered simply: "He taught me another lesson: not to talk about these things at all.