Video goes viral of Rishi Sunak lookalike being 'egged' at 'opening of vape shop' in Northampton

The short clip, which has been viewed on TikTok more than one million times, shows a man who looks like Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ‘opening’ a supposed ‘flavourless’ vape shop, before being ‘egged’ by a ‘member of the public’.

The opening, which was actually a protest against the Government’s new anti-smoking policy, happened last week at vape shop, Right Vape, in Kingsley Park Terrace.

Riot Labs, a vape company based in Milton Keynes, were behind the stunt and said it was in a bid to “draw attention to the looming tax rise and flavour ban proposed by the UK Government”, as they say vaping has emerged as a “beacon of hope for millions seeking to quit smoking”.

However, the Government says the proposed measures are to reverse the marketing that have made vapes became “highly appealing products for children” and that they are part of a broader set of regulations that work towards a ‘smoke free generation’.

At the ‘opening of the vape shop’, the lookalike can be seen with a pair of giant scissors stood in front of the shop, which had been decked out with new signage. The front of the shop read: “Rishi’s vape shop. WARNING: This shop contains nicotine, less choice and ridiculous prices.”

Before the ‘ribbon’ could be cut, the lookalike was splattered with egg. Riot Labs says this was an “unexpected and unforeseen” incident. They say it did not “dampen the overall success of the event”.

Rob Ford, a videographer from Riot Labs who was at the event said: "We’d been there all morning launching a Flavourless Vape shop to highlight to the Government that a ban on flavours is going to have a devastating effect on smokers trying to quit.

"It's all a bit ironic, the vape sector is very angry at Rish Sunak for his quit smoking policies. It's a shame the lookalike got caught in the crossfire just for looking like the PM and we were all a bit worried. He took it well though to be fair to him but the video has gone a bit nuts over the weekend."

The lookalike added: "Work has really picked up this year with an election and Rishi under pressure. It's usually guest appearances for photos and events like that. This has never happened before though I have been shouted at in the street a lot. Some bloke called me a rude word the other week. I just laughed it off, it didn't hurt or anything and the people on the shoot quickly helped me clean it off.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously said: “If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death: smoking.

“That is why, alongside new measures to curb the alarming rise in youth vaping, we are delivering on our commitment to create a smokefree generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products.”

View the the TikTok videos of the ‘egging’ here and here.