Rishi Sunak ‘did a Boris’ today after he escaped local reporters by ducking through a side door on a visit to Southampton.
The prime minister has doubled down on his five pledges after the Conservatives were on the end of a bruising set of local election results.
He has been under pressure in recent days since the loss of nearly 1,000 Tory councillors, with Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens all celebrating success.
On a visit to Southampton, Sunak said that the loss of Conservative representatives was “disappointing” but stood by the “five priorities” that have guided his premiership since the start of the year.
As he was finishing his visit, the final council result came in after a third recount in Longbeck ward in Redcar & Cleveland.
The result saw a Labour candidate and an independent elected, the latter just four votes ahead of a Conservative rival.
It seems to have somewhat soured Sunak’s morning after the PM dodged local journalists by escaping through a back door.
The editor of The Echo has since written to Number 10 to complain about the PM’s treatment of local media:
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