Osborne was mocked for munching on the £7 burger whilst preparing a budget speech and criticised for attempting to encourage a down-to-earth image with the candid photo, which then somewhat backfired. He told Radio 4 that it was “perfectly reasonable to have a burger while working on a speech”.
Putting final touches to the speech #SR2013 pic.twitter.com/jk3FYmqVnm
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) June 25, 2013
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, tweeted a paraody photo gently mocking Osborne by showing him enjoying a salad.
Putting final touches to the LGA speech #lgaconf13 pic.twitter.com/ls9ZWDz3rM
— Eric Pickles (@EricPickles) June 27, 2013
Some mischevious photoshoppers were less than kind to Mr Pickles, adding some additional food items to the table. The photos were then shared by Labour’s John Prescott and Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine.
LOL! RT @PSbook: Surely this is more like it, @EricPickles? #lgaconf13 pic.twitter.com/CLXwNZDuTb
— John Prescott (@johnprescott) June 27, 2013
Not sure releasing that photo of Eric Pickles having lunch was such a good idea: pic.twitter.com/5XZBLD4GhB
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 27, 2013