In a supremely awkward moment rarely witnessed in the world of global politics, United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak got locked out of 10 Downing Street along with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte on Thursday (Dec 7).
As the photographers continuously clicked the photos of the two leaders, they were forced to awkwardly fumble in front of the doors after some staff accidentally locked them outside the headquarters of the politician.
In the hilarious video of the incident, Sunak is seen walking out of residence at 10 Downing Street in London to welcome Rutte. Just as Sunak left, the massive black door of the house, which had been adorned with a festive wreath, swiftly closed behind his back, literally leaving the conservative leader out in the cold.
The politicians, unaware of the situation, posed for handshake shots and exchanged niceties on the doorstep before they turned to go inside and hold discussions, only to find the door locked.
Sunak pushes the door, but fails to open it
The two leaders uncomfortably continued chatting while facing the building and waiting for the custodian to open the door. Minutes later, 43-year-old Sunak was forced to push against the door but to no avail.
Then, the two leaders swapped places on the doorstep and tried looking into two lower-level windows in the hope of catching the attention of someone present inside, as the media continued snapping them.
Finally, the door was opened and the men got inside the house. Before getting inside, 56-year-old Rutte had a giant smile on his face and waved to the crowd of reporters before following Sunak.
Watch: UK: Hardliners turn turn the screws on Rishi Sunak; Deep slits in Conservative Party?
After the meeting, the Dutch prime minister wrote on X, “Naturally we also talked about the alarming situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.”
The awkward encounter came just hours after it was proclaimed by Sunak that he would “do what is necessary” to revive a blocked deal so that asylum-seekers could be sent to Rwanda.
(With inputs from agencies)
