If David Davis had thus far managed to deliver an accomplished performance on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, his shambolic visit to the Irish border on Monday might have been overlooked.
However, the Brexit secretary has, unfortunately, failed to impress during the negotiations with his EU counterparts who have exposed serious weaknesses in the UK's approach to what is the most important and far-reaching issue facing the British government.
Concerns have been raised over his lack of preparation and failure to grasp the detail of his complex brief while his understanding of the finer points of Irish politics has raised eyebrows.
Speaking at a conference earlier this month, Mr Davis claimed there had been a change of government in the south, 'with quite a strong influence from Sinn Féin', remarks that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar declared 'strange' and 'inaccurate'.
Mr Davis has been on particularly weak ground in terms of his attitude to the border, which he has been widely criticised for not visiting even though it represents a major stumbling block in the Brexit negotiations.
Out of the blue, he appeared in Co Armagh on Monday in an unannounced visit that excluded the media, something that is unusual for a senior member of the government.
There is no doubt that he was made very welcome during his two-hour trip to the border alongside Co-Operation Ireland chief executive Peter Sheridan and hopefully he will now have a better understanding of the concerns of people in the region.
We can only guess why he did not want to talk to journalists who wished to ask questions on behalf of the public in Northern Ireland, but such a strategy tends to be counter-productive.
The negative headlines along with a forced apology because the local MP was not informed sent out the message that this trip, far from being a clever PR exercise, was little more than an embarrassing mess that will do little to inspire confidence in Mr Davis's handling of Brexit.
