Rishi Sunak has been fined after being forced into a humiliating apology for failing to wear a seatbelt in a moving car.
Police issued a fixed penalty notice on Friday evening to the Prime Minister after footage Mr Sunak posted on his own Instagram account.
The blunder came on a day when he took a taxpayer-funded private jet on a jaunt around Tory target seats in the North West - including a flight lasting just 28 minutes.
It's only the latest mishap from the PM, who has been branded "out of touch" for a series of gaffes and missteps. It is also the second time he has been issued a fixed penalty notice in office after also being fined over Partygate while Chancellor of the Exchequer.
From contactless fails to wearing Prada loafers on a building site, here are some of his more bizarre blunders.
Removing seatbelt to film video
The PM posted a jaunty video from the back of his chauffeur-driven car where he explained the details of the levelling up fund.
But eagle-eyed viewers spotted that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, despite the fact the car was clearly in motion.
Wearing a seat belt is a legal requirement, with fines of up to £500 for people who flout the law.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, who posted the clip on his Instagram account, said it was "a brief error of judgement".
He said: "He accepts it as mistake and as I say, he apologises for it. The Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seatbelt and once again, I think I've made clear that there was an error or judgment.
"He removed it for a short period of time to film a clip which you've seen but he accepts that's a mistake."
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "We are aware of the matter and we will be looking into it."
Asking a homeless man if he worked in business
The millionaire PM made headlines when he asked a young homeless man if he worked for a business during a visit to a London shelter.
Mr Sunak was branded "out of touch" over the Christmas Eve blunder, which was filmed by a camera crew.
While the PM was serving up food, the man, named Dean, asked if he was going to sort out the economy before Mr Sunak said: "Do you have a... do you work for a business?"
Dean responded: "No I'm homeless, I'm a homeless person but I am interested in business."
Asked what kind of business, he said he liked finance, to which Mr Sunak enthusiastically responded: "Yeah that's absolutely right, so I used to work in finance actually."
Dean said he wouldn't mind a job in finance but "I just want to get through Christmas" during the awkward exchange.
Contactless fail
The moneybags PM was seen struggling to make a contactless payment in a petrol station back when he was Chancellor last year.
The clip showed the cashier raising a barcode scanner but Mr Sunak held up his card to the plastic screen instead of presenting the can.
He has since admitted it was “the most embarrassing thing” that has happened during his time as Chancellor - and joked that “since then someone's taught me how to use that contactless machine."
Mr Sunak later posted a snap using a contactless machine in a McDonald's, with the caption: “Nailed it.”
Posing for pictures with someone else's car
The posing Tory was pictured filling up a Kia Rio at a Sainsbury's forecourt to promote the Treasury's temporary fuel duty cut last March.
But it emerged that the-then Chancellor had arranged to borrow the vehicle - worth around £12,000 - from a Sainsbury's worker.
He was mocked on social media for posing as "a man of the people" while Brits were facing spiralling prices.
Mr Sunak said his family has a VW Golf, which they are understood to use to get around London.
But the Mirror later revealed that the Sunaks actually have four cars - including a BMW, a Lexus and Range Rover.
Wearing Prada shoes to a building site
Mr Sunak is known for his expensive tastes but he provoked astonishment was spotted wearing a pair of £490 Prada loafers on a visit to a building site.
He sported the brown loafers as he toured construction at Teesside Freeport during the leadership contest in the summer.
At the time, he told Teesside Live: “I know things are tough and people are feeling anxious about how they're going to pay these bills”.
The shoes were believed to be old - and it’s not known how much he forked out for them.
Mr Sunak previously posed for a photo op in a pair of trendy £95 'slider' shoes and was pictured sipping from a £180 Bluetooth 'smart mug' ahead of the Budget during the pandemic.
Bragging about cash taken away from deprived areas
A leaked video emerged during the Tory leadership contest which showed Mr Sunak bragging that he could take cash from "deprived urban areas" and give it to more affluent towns.
In footage filmed in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, last summer, the ex-Chancellor said Labour formulas targeting poorer parts of the country "needed to be undone".
He told Tory members that he had started to overturn the system to ensure "areas like this are getting the funding they deserve".
The average house price in the leafy town 30 miles outside of London last year was £498,933 - compared to £281,161 across the rest of England, according to RightMove.
Comparing himself to Will Smith over slap incident
Mr Sunak made a bizarre comparison between himself and the Hollywood actor, who slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
After criticism of his wife Akshata Murthy's business interests, he said he had "not had the best of weekend" but joked that he didn't "slap anybody".
Speaking to the BBC's Newscast podcast, Mr Sunak said: "Someone said, 'Joe Root, Will Smith, and me – not the best of weekends for any of us.'
"But I feel, on reflection, both Will Smith and me having our wives attacked – at least I didn’t get up and slap anybody, which is good."
