By India Today World Desk: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was ridiculed for an over-the-top motorcade escorting him around central London, with social media users comparing him to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Police officers were seen jogging alongside Rishi Sunak’s motorcade in apparent footage of him returning to Downing Street over the weekend, The Daily Mail reported.
A video posted on Twitter shows dozens of police officers either cycling or running in-front, alongside or behind Rishi Sunak’s car as it makes it way through central London. Footage posted online showed police officers jogging in front of four blacked-out Range Rovers and a people carrier.
This was then followed by a Metropolitan Police vehicle and more jogging officers. Rishi Sunak was seen being driven alongside a huge entourage with police on bikes and some officers breathlessly running alongside him.
One officer on a bicycle physically shoves a member of the public off the road while shouting: “Out of the way! Out of the way, please!”. When asked by a person behind the camera “who’s there?”, an officer says “the Prime Minister” as she runs down the road.
Many on social media were quick to criticise the heavy-handed policing and compared the security detail to that of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who has previously been seen with bodyguards running alongside his limousine, The Express reported.
One of the social media users quipped: “Is Kim Jong Un in town?”Another commented: “What an absurd thing to watch – I always associated this with North Korean dictators.”Another wrote: “North Korean vibes.”
Another Twitter user wrote: “Rishi Sunak and security detail doing their best impressions of North Korea.”One more added: “Never seen anything more ridiculous Rishi. Waste of police resources, and still had motorbike escorts. North Korea is not a good look.”
One viral tweet with an accompanying video read: “Is this really necessary? Look at how Rishi Sunak gets escorted through London.”
The PoliticsUK account meanwhile tweeted: “Rishi Sunak’s police escort now consists of actual officers running beside his carâ€æ as well as pedal bikes.”