Rishi Sunak mocks Johnson, Truss and TikTok fan Hancock in after dinner speech

29 September 2023 , 07:10

1354     0

Rishi Sunak ripped into his predecessors in No10 in a speech to journalists (Image: PA)

Rishi Sunak roasted his Tory predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson - and took aim at Matt Hancock's TikTok career in a gag-filled after dinner speech to journalists.

The Prime Minister joked that he was looking forward to doing karaoke at Tory conference this weekend as he addressed the Westminster Correspondents Dinner on Thursday night. He said: "I have heard on the grapevine that Nadine (Dorries) and Boris are doing 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. Liz Truss is apparently covering 'Shaggy's It Wasn't Me'." "I will be performing Elton John's classic 'Tiny Dancer'," he added, poking fun at his 5ft 6in stature.

In a swipe at short-lived PM Ms Truss, who he battled for the Tory leadership, Mr Sunak said: "It has been quite the year in British politics. We're almost a year to the day on from what we might euphemistically call 'the events that led to my becoming Prime Minister'."

Pointing to Ms Truss's attempts to point the finger for her disastrous stint in No10, he said: "I'm glad to see Liz Truss has been quietly reflecting not least on who is to blame." He also rinsed Health Secretary turned reality TV junkie Matt Hancock for his frequent appearances on TikTok. Mr Hancock, who lost the Tory whip over his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, has recently been appearing on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Mr Sunak said: "Arguably looking back over this tumultuous year, no-one has had a busier year than Matt Hancock. It's hard to keep up - I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. And that's just one reason why I'm so proud to have introduced the Online Safety Bill. It is designed to prevent the spread of harmful, malicious and undignified content - just like a 44-year-old former health secretary lip syncing to a Barbie song on TikTok."

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

The PM also sent up his own bizarre Net Zero speech last week, where he claimed to have scrapped measures - such as a meat tax and seven bins in every home - that were never due to happen. "The ban on Christmas, I’ve scrapped it. The plan for pubs to open just an hour a day, I've scrapped it. The ban on Strictly, I’ve scrapped it. The calls to ban puppies? I’ve scrapped that too."

Mr Sunak ended his speech by paying tribute to "fearless, compassionate" BBC newsreader George Alagiah, who died earlier this year from bowel cancer. "He represented the very best of this country's long and noble tradition of journalism," Mr Sunak said.

* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook

Lizzy Buchan