Leader of The House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, is set to spend his 12th successive Christmas struggling to get the lid off a jar of chilli and onion chutney that his wife bought in 2007 to go with the cold meat and mashed potatoes on Boxing Day.
A Westminster source has revealed that Rees-Mogg has tried everything to remove the lid, including; tapping the edge with a knife, wrenching it off using Mole Grips, wedging it in a door jamb, and using a Stilsens pipe wrench to twist the cap free.
"Jacob has very weak wrists', the source reveals. "He always struggled to get the lids off of his bottles of pop at Eton and used to ask one of the smaller boys to do it for him.
"He's a persistent chap though and once spent an entire day trying to flush the lavatory in The Commons after they'd had new press down handle cisterns installed.
"Eventually, he gave up and asked the then Shadow Home Secretary, Dianne Abbot, to do it for him.
"However, she had little luck herself, and after repeated flushings, still failed to dislodge a stubborn 'submarine' that he'd left submerged on the bottom"
Rees-Mogg angrily denied the rumours last night, pointing to the fact that he regularly pumps up the tyres on his penny-farthing bicycle and once 'made the Queens eyes water' with the firmness of his grip as he took her hand before kissing it during his controversial request to prorogue Parliament in August last year.
However, Rees-Mogg's wife, Helena, confirmed the chutney story last night when she told newsmen: "I'm afraid I can't deny the fact that Jacob's been struggling with that jar.
"It's become a bit of a family joke down the years, to be honest with you.
"For you see, nobody's got the heart to tell him he's been turning it the wrong way"
