Prime Minister made a faux pas yesterday as he stepped into a pair of Timberland boots that have been widely mocked.
Mr Sunak wore the £150 lace-up boots to join Border Force crews in Dover before giving a speech on his plan to stop small migrant boats.
He claimed his push to ‘stop the boats’ is ‘starting to work’ as he announced two more barges to help house asylum seekers.
However, it was the boots, not the boats, that stole the limelight – with many online teasing him by playing on his own slogan: ‘Stop the boots.’
Plenty mocked him for the size of the shoe compared to the wearer, with one meme showing Mr Sunak in a gigantic single boot, using it as a boat to cross the Channel.
Another played on the words boat and boot to show the PM all at sea
The shoes were photoshopped to outrageous sizes in many of the funny internet memes
This gigantic shoe, driven down a street by a tractor, was likened to Rishi’s choice of boot
The PM, who is 5ft 6inches, was made to look even smaller in this manipulation of a photo
Rishi Sunak sported a £150 pair of rugged Timberlands yesterday as he joined border force crews in Dover
The Prime Minister found his leather footwear creating something of a stir on social media – where he was mocked by critics
One user posted: slot login bos168 ‘Stop the boots!Please, it’s doesn’t make you look like Zelenski (sic)’. Another said: ‘Small boats, massive boots.’
It is not the first time Mr Sunak has caused a stir with his footwear – in July last year he was spotted wearing £490 Prada suede shoes to a building site.
He has also come under fire for his £180 Bluetooth ‘smart’ coffee cup and a £95 pair of ‘slider’ slip-ons.
Mr Sunak also went campaigning in a £3,500 suit.
Yesterday the PM insisted Channel crossings are down 20 per cent since he unveiled his plan five months ago as he gave an ‘update’ in Kent.
Although he conceded there was still a ‘long way to go’, he argued that the same progress was not being seen across the Channel in .
Mr Sunak revealed that two more barges are being brought in to house 1,000 asylum seekers.The first is due to take up position off Portland in Dorset in the coming weeks, but the premier refused to say where the new additions will be located. There has been speculation one will be placed in Merseyside and another off Teesside in the North East.
‘Our approach is working,’ Mr Sunak said.’I said I will stop the boats and I meant it.’
Official figures suggest numbers crossing from the Continent have been slightly lower so far this year, although the weather can have a major impact.
Nearly 3,800 have been recorded, compared to 4,500 in the equivalent period in 2022.Provisional figures show another 3,800 in April and May, but there were more than 5,000 over those two months last year.
Mr Sunak pointed to deals with Albania and France designed to curb crossings, while conceding that more needs to be done to fulfil his pledge – seen as crucial if he is to have any hope of winning the election next year.
However, Conservatives are demanding faster action after immigration minister Robert Jenrick was forced to admit on Sunday that the vast majority of Albanians arriving illegally had not been returned.
He said ‘hundreds’ had been repatriated since Britain signed an agreement with the eastern European nation in December.
But around 12,000 Albanians entered the UK via the Channel last year, up from around 800 in 2021.
