British Prime Minister caught without a seatbelt in the back seat of a car

British police will analyze a video in which the prime minister appears without a seatbelt in the back seat of a car, a “misjudgment” for which Rishi Sunak has already apologized, Downing Street reported Thursday.

In the images published in social mediathe head of the british government seems to speak enthusiastically about his policy of territorial rebalancing, sitting in the back seat of a car, without fastening his seatbelt, during a trip to Lancashire, in the north of England.

???? | NEW: PM Rishi Sunak was NOT wearing a seatbelt on video taken in his Government car this morning pic.twitter.com/SOLn5YGnT7

—Politics UK ??????? (@POLITlCSUK) January 19, 2023

“We are aware of the matter and we will investigate it,” a local police spokesman said, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Failure to wear a seat belt can be punished by a fine of up to £500 (approximately €571). Rishi Sunak “fully” admitted the mistake and apologized, Downing Street said.

“It was an error of judgement,” the prime minister removed his belt “for a brief moment to film a video,” “but acknowledges that it is a mistake,” a cabinet spokesman said. “The prime minister believes that everyone should wear a seatbelt,” he added.

Even before this incident, Rishi Sunak was criticized for having made several jet flights for short trips, of the order of 30 and 40 minutes.

A “habit that costs the environment and taxpayers dearly,” denounced the number two opposition, from the Labor Party, Angela Rayner. On the other hand, the prime minister’s spokesman defended the election for reasons of efficiency and better use of “time.”

When he was finance minister in Boris Johnson’s government, Rishi Sunak was fined in the “partygate” scandal, for having been present at a gathering for the prime minister’s birthday, violating anti-Covid-19 rules.