Mayor: Cameron faked Magna Carta ignorance

LONDON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The mayor of London said Prime Minister David Cameron was pretending when he said he did not know the meaning of the term "Magna Carta."

Mayor Boris Johnson, who is seen as Cameron's rival to lead the Conservative party, said the prime minister intentionally flubbed the question about the meaning of "Magna Carta" and a question about who composed "Rule Britannia" during an appearance this week on the U.S. TV program "The Late Show with David Letterman," The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"I think he was only pretending. I think he knew full well what Magna Carta means," Johnson said. "It was a brilliant move in order to show his demotic credentials and that he didn't have Latin bursting out of every orifice."

"Magna Carta" translates to "Great Charter" and "Rule Britannia" was composed by Thomas Arne in 1740.