PM in 'Yorkshire jibe' during Leeds speech rehearsal

Lord Prescott has said that the people of Yorkshire don't hate one another, as Prime Minister David Cameron was caught on microphone saying, but instead that they hated Mr Cameron himself.

The Prime Minister was picked up on a microphone saying: "We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn't think they hated each other so much."

Mr Cameron has since dismissed the comment as a joke and said "two of the greatest living Yorkshiremen" - cricketer Geoffrey Boycott and umpire Dickie Bird - agreed with him.

Lord Prescott said he saw the funny side of Cameron's gaffe, but he went on to say that there was a serious element behind it, and that the Prime Minister's policies on devolution were causing a division among the people of Yorkshire.

When questioned by ITV News' Duncan Wood if Lord Prescott felt the word 'hate' was overly strong, he replied jokingly:

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Sir Gary Verity has described Prime Minister David Cameron as 'a great friend of Yorkshire' in light of the PM's comment that people in Yorkshire hate each other.

Mr Verity added that the Prime Minister's comment was a joke but maybe 'not the best joke in the world.'

Legendary cricket umpire Dickie Bird has described Prime Minister David Cameron's comment that people in Yorkshire hate each other as 'harmless', adding that the PM loves Yorkshire:

Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed his comment about people from Yorkshire hating each other was a joke.

The PM, who went to Headingley to see England's cricket team take on Australia after his speech in Leeds this morning added that he had received "absolution" from "two of the greatest living Yorkshiremen" after being caught joking about people from the county all hating one another.

He said that cricketer Geoffrey Boycott and umpire Dickie Bird had both recognised it as "a joke" and believed most people would feel the same.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Test Match Special, the PM said: "I was picked up saying something that was not meant to be broadcast, but it was a joke.

"One of my aides had said to me that there were five or six different bids from Yorkshire for devolution, different ideas from different parts of Yorkshire. I joked, saying that I thought Yorkshiremen had it in for everyone else but not for each other - or words to that effect.

"It was a total joke but it's been picked up and I suspect I will be getting a bit of gyp for this.

"But I've been absolved by two of the greatest living Yorkshiremen. I repeated what I said to Geoffrey Boycott and Dickie Bird and they said 'It's a joke, that's absolutely fine', so I think absolution from those two Yorkshiremen - I hope that will be enough to see me through.

Prime Minister David Cameron's comment that people from Yorkshire "hate each other" has prompted a flurry of reaction on social media.

Catherine Jones tweeted: "Cameron thinks Yorkshire people hate everyone probably because everyone in Yorkshire hates him."

Another tweeter, Luke, from Wakefield, wrote: "Us Yorkshire folk don't hate everyone Mr Cameron......Just you."

But Liam Ronan, who described himself as a Sheffielder in Leytonstone, east London, backed the Prime Minister, writing: "He makes a fair enough point to be honest!"

Councillor Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council and chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, says Prime Minister David Cameron's comment about Yorkshire was a "joke".

Councillor Box, who is involved in the devolution bid from the Leeds City Region, said the joke stemmed from the high number of devolution bids entered from across Yorkshire.

He said: "He was using the fact that there were so many bids from Yorkshire to try to make a joke."

He added: "There is rivalry between Yorkshire. There's always been rivalry.

"The reason I found it quite amusing is there's some truth in it. We're quite tribal, we're competitive within Yorkshire, let alone with the rest of the country."

Wakefield MP Mary Creagh has criticised Prime Minister David Cameron for his off-camera comment that people in Yorkshire "hate each other."

In a tweet, Labour's Creagh said: "The mask slips....What the PM really thinks of Yorkshire, when he thinks the camera is off."

David Cameron has reportedly been caught on microphone saying that people in Yorkshire "hate each other."

The Prime Minister was rehearing for his speech about devolution in Leeds when a Downing Street microphone picked him up saying: "We just thought people in Yorkshire hated everyone else, we didn't realise they hated each other so much."

Number 10 has refused to comment.