BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A European Union lawmaker on Tuesday was reminded of the perils of videoconferencing when he appeared to be wearing no trousers as he discussed policy matters with his peers.

The European Parliament’s official live broadcast showed Ireland’s Luke Ming Flanagan wearing a shirt and sitting on the edge of an unmade bed with his legs crossed, rubbing his thighs as he addressed an agriculture committee for two minutes.

Flanagan, of the left-wing Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left faction, offered a sanguine explanation of the video call incident:

“I was just back from a run so was in my shorts. Decided to put on a shirt to look kinda respectable! That didn’t work out very well!,” he told Reuters.

His light-hearted response won him sympathy on social media where many people shared their own struggles with video calls and working from home amid the pandemic.