Rishi Sunak’s mortifying gaffes – contactless fail to grovelling Sambas apology

During his 19 months in No10, Rishi Sunak has had his fair share of bizarre blunders.

The Prime Minister has been branded ‘out of touch’ for a series of gaffes and missteps since he replaced Liz Truss in October 2022, from failing to wear a seatbelt in a moving car to asking a homeless man if he worked in business.

He almost singlehandedly ended the reign of the Adidas Samba earlier this year, and was criticised for claiming he struggles with the domestic load at home, despite being the richest inhabitant of Downing Street in history.

After the PM announced a snap general election last night, we take a look at some of his most embarrassing moments over the last two years – including the time he didn’t know how to use contactless pay.

Ridiculed for ‘destroying Adidas Sambas’

The PM received ridicule after posting a video on Instagram of him wearing Adidas Sambas and was forced to issue a ‘fulsome apology’. Fashion magazines, including Dazed and GQ, respectively said “Rishi has killed Sambas” and Tory-supporting newspaper the Telegraph even said the trainer had been “killed off by Rishi in one fell swoop”.

When asked about destroying the “fashion icon” by LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Mr Sunak said: “In my defence, I would say I have been wearing Adidas and Sambas and others, in fact, for many, many years. It’s the first pair my brother got for me many, many years ago.” He dubbed himself a “long-time devotee”…. sorry Sambas.

Bizarre bed argument

Mr Sunak shocked the public when he claimed that he interrupts his working day to go back home and check the beds are made in his Downing Street flat. In a nauseating video alongside his wife Akshata Murty, he discussed how they share the chores at home. Asked by Grazia who is most likely to make the bed, Ms Murty replied “definitely Rish” as she confessed that she is “not a morning person”.

The PM added: “That is not your strong point. But you also just don’t like making the bed. It bugs me so I actually sometimes come up back into the flat from the office after we’ve all left to make the bed because I’ll be irritated if it’s not made.” His wife replied: “[It is] one of his special skills… Rishi likes to have it done nice and tidy.”

Writer and aesthetician Caroline Hirons took to X to blast his claims and said: “The net worth of this family is expected to be close to a billion pounds soon. They are already twice as wealthy as the King. And all while making the rest of the country poorer and sicker. Ain’t no-one in this family doing ‘chores’.”

Removing seatbelt to film video

The PM posted a jaunty video from the back of his chauffeur-driven car in January 2023. But eagle-eyed viewers spotted that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, despite the fact the car was clearly in motion. Wearing a seat belt is a legal requirement, with fines of up to £500 for people who flout the law.

A spokesman for the PM, who posted the clip on his Instagram account, said: “He accepts it as a mistake and as I say, he apologises for it. The Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seatbelt and once again, I think I’ve made clear that there was an error or judgment. He removed it for a short period of time to film a clip which you’ve seen but he accepts that’s a mistake.” He was later fined for the incident.

Asking homeless man if he worked in business

The millionaire PM made headlines when he asked a young homeless man if he worked for a business during a visit to a London shelter. Mr Sunak was branded “out of touch” over the Christmas Eve blunder, which was filmed by a camera crew.

While the PM was serving up food, the man, named Dean, asked if he was going to sort out the economy before Mr Sunak said: “Do you have a… do you work for a business?” Dean responded: “No I’m homeless, I’m a homeless person but I am interested in business.”

Asked what kind of business, he said he liked finance, to which Mr Sunak enthusiastically responded: “Yeah that’s absolutely right, so I used to work in finance actually.” Dean said he wouldn’t mind a job in finance but “I just want to get through Christmas” during the awkward exchange.

Contactless fail

The moneybags PM was seen struggling to make a contactless payment in a petrol station back when he was Chancellor in 2022. The clip showed the cashier raising a barcode scanner but Mr Sunak held up his card to the plastic screen instead of presenting the can.

He has since admitted it was “the most embarrassing thing” that has happened during his time as Chancellor – and joked that “since then someone’s taught me how to use that contactless machine”. Mr Sunak later posted a snap using a contactless machine in a McDonald’s, with the caption: “Nailed it.”

Posing for pictures with someone else’s car

The posing Tory was pictured filling up a Kia Rio at a Sainsbury’s forecourt to promote the Treasury’s temporary fuel duty cut in March 2022. But it emerged that the-then Chancellor had arranged to borrow the vehicle – worth around £12,000 – from a Sainsbury’s worker.

He was mocked on social media for posing as “a man of the people” while Brits were facing spiralling prices. Mr Sunak said his family has a VW Golf, which they are understood to use to get around London. But the Mirror later revealed that the Sunaks actually have four cars – including a BMW, a Lexus and Range Rover.

Wearing Prada shoes to a building site

Mr Sunak is known for his expensive tastes but he provoked astonishment when spotted wearing a pair of £490 Prada loafers on a visit to a building site. He sported the brown loafers as he toured construction at Teesside Freeport during the leadership contest in 2022.

At the time, he told Teesside Live: “I know things are tough and people are feeling anxious about how they’re going to pay these bills.” The shoes were believed to be old – and it’s not known how much he forked out for them.

Cash bragging

A leaked video emerged during the Tory leadership contest which showed Mr Sunak bragging that he could take cash from “deprived urban areas” and give it to more affluent towns. In footage filmed in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, last summer, the ex-Chancellor said Labour formulas targeting poorer parts of the country “needed to be undone”.

He told Tory members that he had started to overturn the system to ensure “areas like this are getting the funding they deserve”. The average house price in the leafy town 30 miles outside of London last year was £498,933 – compared to £281,161 across the rest of England, according to RightMove.

Will Smith remark

Mr Sunak made a bizarre comparison between himself and the Hollywood actor, who slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. After criticism of his wife Akshata Murthy’s business interests, he said he had “not had the best of weekend” but joked that he didn’t “slap anybody”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newscast podcast, Mr Sunak said: “Someone said, ‘Joe Root, Will Smith, and me – not the best of weekends for any of us.’ But I feel, on reflection, both Will Smith and me having our wives attacked – at least I didn’t get up and slap anybody, which is good.”