Big Ben has kept time for over 150 years and throughout two world wars, so perhaps it's no surprise that when eagle-eyed viewers spotted a discrepancy between the time on the clock face and that displayed on a BBC News bulletin, their first assumption was that the channel was faking its 'live' report.

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But no, BBC News presenter Simon McCoy did some investigating and confirmed that, yes, Big Ben – which is currently undergoing extensive renovation work – was indeed running 20 minutes late.

https://twitter.com/BBCSimonMcCoy/status/960537195852558336

https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/960545811766525952

Some people just weren't having it.

https://twitter.com/ParrFerris/status/960541771649437703

Some were worried about the state of other London landmarks.

https://twitter.com/BlueLass/status/960538352893288451

And some thought we should just give the clock a break.

https://twitter.com/jsalsman/status/960613923367071745

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After all, who isn't late for work once in a while?

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