This is the moment Prime Minister Keir Starmer was booed by other tourists as he side-stepped a massive queue for a toboggan ride during a winter holiday abroad.
The Labour leader was escorted to the front of the line on a trip to the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira, ahead of others who had waited up to three hours for their turn.
In footage shared on social media, one yelled at Sir Keir to ‘get to the back of the queue’ as he, his wife and their two teenage children were ushered by security.
But government sources said local police had advised him to skip the queue, fearing it would not be sensible for the Prime Minister to be standing outside for hours.
Droves of tourists had lined up for the popular Monte Sledges ride, with several cruise ships docked in the port.
But footage shared on TikTok by @sophieontheriviera showed him bypassing them on his first family time since winning the election in July.
The ride sees people ‘toboggan’ down a steep street in a whicker chair on runners on the balmy island, west of Morocco.
Keir Starmer seemed to annoy holidaymakers in Madeira after skipping a queue for a toboggan ride during his winter break
In footage shared on social media, the PM could be seen wearing a black top as he, his wife and their two teenage children were ushered to the front by security
Two men in white straw hats could then be seen helping the family get onto the toboggan
One onlooker, Russell Schacter, 64, from Ilford, Essex, told The Sun: ‘We arrived around 10am and queued with everyone else for ages, even though we had pre-booked.
‘There were lots of Brits and everyone was typically patient and well mannered. We had finally got right to the front when the queue was halted.’
He said the PM and his two kids ‘were taken to the front’ and ‘were put straight on the ride’. ‘But people who had been lining up all morning were not quite so happy and quite a few boos and calls of “get to the back of the queue” went up,’ he added.
Mr Schacter said Sir Keir is ‘obviously in a privileged position and has security issues’, but that it was ‘still a difficult pill to swallow to see him pushing to the front after we queued for three hours’.
It has echoes of the ‘Queuegate’ scandal that erupted when Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the former ITV This Morning presenters, jumped ahead to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II at her lying in state in 2022.
Thousands signed a petition demanding the stars be axed – even though TV bosses came out in their defence and stated the pair were at Westminster Hall to work as broadcasters and did not push ahead of the public.
The Monte Sledges in Madeira are one of the island’s most famous tourist attractions. They are made of wicker and take tourists down a 2km-long run.
The Prime Minister, 62, joined his family on the Portuguese island earlier this week for his first holiday since entering No10. He delayed his departure following the death of his brother, Nick, on Boxing Day.
Sir Keir also cancelled a European summer holiday planned for August after rioting broke out in the UK and tensions escalated in the Middle East.
Shortly before Christmas, The Mail on Sunday reported that friends of the Prime Minister said he ‘badly needs a holiday’ owing to the ‘relentless strain’ of the job.