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Rishi Sunak without a seat belt (screenshot of the Instagram story): A »misjudgment«
Photo: SUNAK VIA INSTAGRAM / SUNAK VIA INSTAGRAM via REUTERS
British police have announced an investigation following the release of a video showing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unbuckled in a moving car.
The case is being investigated, the police said on Thursday evening.
Sunak had previously published a video on the Internet in which he promoted his own politics from the back seat of a moving car - without wearing a seat belt.
A police spokesman in the county of Lancashire, where the prime minister was away during the recording, said the agency was "aware of the case" and was investigating it.
Driving without a seatbelt in the UK can be fined up to £500 (€571).
A spokesman for the head of government said Sunak apologized for his "mistake".
"The Prime Minister believes everyone should wear a seat belt," the spokesman said.
Sunak only released the belt "for a brief moment" to record the video.
This was a "misjudgment".
Sunak's travel habits had previously caused a stir after the prime minister had used a private jet for short-haul flights of 30 to 40 minutes several times in the past few days.
The use of the aircraft caused "high costs for the environment and the taxpayer," criticized the deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner.
However, a government spokesman stressed that Sunak chooses his mode of transport "how he can best use his time to get around the whole of the United Kingdom".
phw/AFP