Liz Truss has hit out at the Daily Star’s infamous stunt that saw her outlasted in Downing Street by a lettuce.
In her first public comments on the gag, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister said it was “unfunny and puerile”.
The paper’s gimmick became an internet sensation during Truss’s 44 days as PM.
It was inspired by an article in The Economic, which said: “Ms Truss entered Downing Street on September 6th.
“She blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy-price guarantees on September 23rd.
“Take away the ten days of mourning after the death of the Queen, and she had seven days in control. That is the shelf-life of a lettuce.”
The Daily Star set up a live action cam on YouTube with a real (60p) lettuce next to a picture of Truss to see which would last longer.
Asked at a conference in Dublin today whether she could now see “the funny side”, Truss said: “I don’t think it’s funny, I just think it’s puerile.”
However, she had earlier said “the irreverence of the media in Britain is a good thing on the whole”.
Truss said: “I think the British media are known around the world for being particularly vociferous… I don’t think they’re particularly deferential to politicians.
“Certainly, when I went to international summits I would get a lot of sympathy from politicians from other countries who were saying ‘My God, your press – what are those people like’.”
She added: “I think the irreverence of the media in Britain is a good thing on the whole. Although I have suffered, personally, from it, I’d rather live in a country where there is a robust debate than what the alternatives look like.”