Huge inflatable duck with “what a ducking shambles” slogan appears outside Downing Street

A HUGE inflatable duck with the slogan “what a ducking shambles” was spotted outside 10 Downing Street yesterday.

The 35ft bird was secured onto the back of a flatbed HGV lorry and was parked up outside the gates outside the Prime Minister’s office in London.

The comedic anecdote comes at a time when Conservatives Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt go head to head in the leadership elections after the resignation of shortest-serving PM Liz Truss.

Londoners were left amused by the stunt, which appears to have been arranged by takeaway delivery company, Food Hub.

An image of the big bird was taken by a passerby, Adam Faulkner, who posted it on Facebook yesterday (SUN).

Social media users have been left in stitches by the apparently staged sighting.

Adam wrote “Giant duck visited Downing Street this morning!”

Hundreds of people have liked the image and left comments joking about the giant arrival.

Ben Maskell said: “Is it the new Prime Minister?”

Nick Wing said: “How big is the Downing Street bathtub?”

Michael Miller said: “Downing Street’s no stranger to ‘Ducking questions!’”

Janice Barnard said: “We’re all ducked!”

And Piers Mason said: “I would vote for that sack of hot air over any other sack of hot air in Government. #generalducknow.”

The duck’s appearance came just days after Truss resigned as Prime Minister after just 44 days in the job.

During her short stint in the job, she faced heavy criticism after announcing a radical economic agenda of tax cuts and spending worth tens of billions of pounds funded by borrowing.

The pound went spiraling and reached its lowest value against the US dollar.

Truss took over the role as PM from Boris Johnson who was forced to resign after losing the support of his fellow MPS.

Foodhub CEO Ardian Mula has spoken out about the hilarious stunt, adding that the reason behind it was, not only to give a chuckle to London locals, but also to bring awareness to the steep cost of living crisis.

Mula has now called on the new prime minister to get a grip on the issue and curb spiralling food prices as a matter of urgency in their first days in office.

In September, the price of food jumped by 14.6%, the biggest rise since 1980. Items like bread, meat, and dairy have all been affected the most.

The price of importing produce and ingredients has also increased, due to the pound’s recent decline against foreign currencies.

Ardian Mula said: “Restaurants and takeaways are currently under an extreme amount of pressure. Costs in every department are rising.

“Not only are owners worried about how they are going to light their restaurants and power their kitchens, but they are now worried about the price of food.

“Kitchen staples, such as meat, cheese, and bread have been hit the hardest. These are key ingredients in one of the nation’s favourite takeaway meals – the burger.

“Some costs are already being passed onto customers, however, that can only go so far. Everyone is struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis, and consumers can’t foot the whole bill of these increases.

“Britain has a great takeaway and restaurant tradition. This is now under threat.

“Something must change, and more help must be offered by the government.”