EASYJET HAS been forced to issue an apology to staff after it emerged that elements of a speech given to pilots and cabin crew borrowed elements of Leo Varadkar’s inspirational St Patrick’s Day address to the nation.
The speech, delivered by EasyJet chief operating officer Peter Bellew, had been designed as a way of motivating pilots and cabin crew through the current coronavirus pandemic.
However, it soon became apparent that the address borrowed key elements of Varadkar’s March 17 speech.
One person on social media even spliced the videos together to showcase the similarities between the two.
In the face of mounting criticism, Bellew issued an apology to staff and admitted he had borrowed from the speech.
"Some of you have spotted similarities between the message I did last week and a recent speech by the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar,” he said.
“I can only hold my hands up and apologise. I thought the Taoiseach struck exactly the right note and it really resonated in my mind with what we are going through, so I borrowed some of his phrases in my recent message to cabin crew and pilots, which I realise now I should not have done.”
"I would like to say sorry to the Taoiseach and to all of you. I will write all of my own speeches in future."
