Rishi Sunak appeared in a video by social media foodies Top Jaw which was reportedly deleted “within minutes” after a backlash by 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 amongst younger voters”, Balls said.
Speaking on his hit podcast, Political Currency with former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, Balls said a listener had written in to share some news.
The former Labour shadow Chancellor said: “I found out that Rishi Sunak made an appearance on the social media sensation that is Top Jaw where he shared his favourite restaurant recommendations.
“Downing Street were very excited about this and thought it would help boost the Prime Minister’s profile amongst younger voters.”
But he continued: “Unfortunately, it was received so badly by Top Jaw’s followers, that the owners of the account deleted it from their channel within minutes.
“I managed to take a screen grab before the video was deleted, which I’m sharing as evidence.”
The anecdote, shared to X, formerly Twitter, also saw a screengrab of the video and images of the comments left below, which included the words “ew”, “WTF”, and “sis… this ain’t it”.
The channel, which features a blend of travel, food and drink content focused around London, has also showcased celebrity chefs Gizzi Erskine and Angela Hartnett. It’s understood that Sunak took part in the interview last year and the government was not involved in its publication.
Osborne added, in an apparent reference to the news Sunak undergoes a 36-hour fast each week: “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 news of his disposable vape ban exclusively via digital publisher LADbible.
Top Jaw declined to comment and No10 were approached for a response.