Rishi Sunak appeared in a Top Jaw social media video which was reportedly deleted “within minutes” following a backlash from followers, Ed Balls has claimed.
The prime minister was interviewed for the channel, which is run by content creators Jesse Burgess and Will Warr, in a bid to “boost (his) profile among younger voters”, Mr Balls said.
Speaking on his hit podcast, Political Currency with former Conservative Chancellor George OsborneBalls said a listener had written in to share some news.
The former Labor shadow chancellor said: “I found out that Rishi Sunak was making an appearance on the social media sensation that is Top Jaw where he shared his favorite restaurant recommendations.
“Downing Street was very happy about this and believed it would help boost the Prime Minister’s profile among younger voters.”
But he continued: “Unfortunately, it was so badly received by Top Jaw’s followers that the account’s owner deleted it from their channel within minutes.
“I managed to take a screenshot before the video was deleted, which I’m sharing as proof.”
The anecdote, shared to X, formerly Twitter, also saw a screenshot of the video and images of the comments left below, which included the words “ew”, “WTF” and “sys… it’s not”.
The channel, which has a mix of travel, food and drink focused around London, has also featured celebrity chefs Gizzi Erskine and Angela Hartnett. It is understood that Sunak took part in the interview last year and that the government was not involved in the publication.
Osborne added, in an apparent reference to the news that Sunak is undergoing a 36-hour weekly fast: “I’m not sure a food site is the right thing for a prime minister who doesn’t eat.”
It comes after Sunak faced criticism after announcing the news of his disposable vape ban exclusively via digital publisher LADbible.
Top Jaw declined to comment and No10 was contacted for a response.
