Liz Truss has described comparisons of her dress sense to Margaret Thatcher’s as “lazy thinking” – and said last year’s lettuce live stream was “puerile”.
Just 44 days after taking over from Boris Johnson, Ms Truss stepped down as prime minister – making her the shortest-serving PM in British History.
Before her departure, The Daily Star began a live stream of a lettuce – as the former minister’s grip on power came under threat following the mini-budget.
“Will Liz Truss still be prime minister within the 10-day shelf-life of a lettuce?” the tabloid asked.
The vegetable was displayed on YouTube next to a portrait of Ms Truss.
Speaking at a media conference in Dublin, Ms Truss was asked about her dress sense and whether she seeks to dress like Ms Thatcher, to which she said female politicians are often compared with one another because “there aren’t that many of us”.
She added: “I just think, frankly, it’s lazy thinking on people’s part. It’s not something I have ever consciously sought to do at all.”
Ms Truss also highlighted the impact the media had on her.
She said that although “robust debate” in the British media represents “a good thing overall”, she also expressed frustration with some elements.
Ms Truss said she wanted to “change the country” but instead, the conversations often diverted to “what hat you’re wearing, or whether you like photographs, all this other stuff, rather than one of the crucial issues that are affecting Britain, Europe, Ireland and the US”.
Read more from Sky News:
What has Liz Truss been up to since she quit as Prime Minister?
Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list
“I do think sometimes politics is sort of treated as a branch of the entertainment industry. Who’s up, who’s down, who says what about who – it’s a bit playground when there are really serious issues going on,” she added.
In 2020, Twitter commentators spotted Ms Truss appearing to recreate Mrs Thatcher’s look in her first Tory Leadership debate.
She wore a black blazer and white shirt with a large bow for the event, matching what the former Conservative prime minister wore in a 1979 election broadcast.
At the time, many took to social media to point out the similarities between the two outfits.
One tweet, which received more than 24,000 likes, said: “Liz Truss has recreated Margaret Thatcher’s appearance from her 1979 election broadcast down to the last detail.”
Another said: “Liz Truss’s Margaret Thatcher Tribute Act is available for hire.”
