Sunak mocked for filling 'Sainsbury's worker's' Kia and struggling with contactless card

24 March 2022, 13:03 | Updated: 24 March 2022, 13:06

Rishi Sunak has been mocked after he was pictured filling up someone else's Kia Rio for a photo opportunity before attempting to press his contactless card against a barcode scanner.

It came after he announced a 5p-a-litre cut to fuel duty as part of his Spring Statement on Wednesday as well as a '£6 billion tax cut'.

However, it was the small task of filling a tank and buying a can of coke and chocolate bar at a petrol station that stalled the millionaire Chancellor.

The Treasury said he "visited New Cross Sainsbury's and petrol station to talk to shoppers about how they’ll be helped by the tax cuts".

But it was him filling up a Kia Rio outside Sainsbury's that did not fool people, with many refusing to believe it was his car.

It later emerged that the Kia was not Rishi Sunak’s car but was actually owned by a Sainsbury’s employee. The Chancellor apparently paid for the petrol, Treasury sources said.

An embarrassing moment where Mr Sunak struggled to correctly use his bank card to try and pay for a Coke and a Twix also caused a stir.

He was ridiculed for being so "out of touch" amid the cost of living crisis, with one Twitter user saying: "I think it is slightly harsh that Rishi Sunak is getting so much grief for being out of touch.

"I mean he is bound to be feeling the pinch of the cost of living too. His limo probably uses a fiver of petrol just to get him from his front door to the helipad these days."

Mr Sunak and his wife are reported to be worth more than the Queen. According to the i, he is the richest man in the House of Commons.

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Another Twitter user said: "Sunak definitely pulled up in his Tesla and gave the person in the Kia Rio £500 so he could fill up their car for the photo op."

Another person tweeted: "Sunak does not in any lifetime drive a Kia Rio, I fail to believe it. Another trying the impress and come across as a normal fella.

"A charlatan of the highest order, don't fall for the spin and mirrors."

It comes as petrol prices continue to rise in the UK - partially due to the decision to cut off Russian oil imports.

Price increases began at the beginning of the Covid pandemic as the demand for energy rose, and since then the cost of oil has continued to rise to a record high.

However, the "biggest cut to all fuel duty rates" was implemented from Wednesday evening and will remain in place until March 2023.

The RAC estimate the cut will save consumers around £3.30 off the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car.