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<\/div>\nUK prime ministers in recent decades have each had their own personalised lectern. (File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
London: <\/b><\/p>\n
One of incoming British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s first decisions saw him dispense with Liz Truss’s lectern, styled to look like a twisted stack of wooden blocks.<\/p>\n
The lectern’s unusual appearance sparked surprise last month when Truss used it to make her first address in front of the prime minister’s residence at number 10 Downing Street.<\/p>\n
British prime ministers in recent decades have each had their own personalised lectern.<\/p>\n
But the speed of Sunak’s selection as party leader and prime minister following Liz Truss’s short and calamitous tenure meant Downing Street had to cast around for a stand left over from a previous administration.<\/p>\n
The lecterns, which have a metal core to prevent them blowing over, usually take at least three weeks to manufacture at a cost of up to 4,000 pounds ($4,500), according to The Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n
Sources told the newspaper that former premier David Cameron’s lectern had been designed to look “statesmanlike”, while Theresa May’s aimed for a “feminine” look.<\/p>\n
Boris Johnson’s had a two-tiered base and was the first to be a dark brown colour.<\/p>\n
Tony Blair opted for a “basic floating shelf design” which Gordon Brown inherited.<\/p>\n
Although Truss’s unsuccessful spell as prime minister lasted just seven weeks, the daily noted that her lectern had however been “well used”.<\/p>\n
Darth Vader’s Theme<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile as Sunak stepped up to address the country, outside Downing Street demonstrators delivered an amplified musical message.<\/p>\n One of the tunes they chose for the arrival of the “Star Wars” fan Sunak was “The Imperial March”, Darth Vader’s theme.<\/p>\n Another demonstrating was Neil Horan, a serial protester who has previously claimed Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage was “sent by Christ” to save Britain from Europe.<\/p>\n Police questioned Horan as he held up a sign saying: “Britain is a Christian country. It should have a Christian prime minister — not a Hindu one.”<\/p>\n The crowd, notwithstanding its vocal anti-Conservative views, responded to Horan with boos and expletives.<\/p>\n But Larry the Downing Street cat — 11 years into his reign as mouser-in-chief — kept calm and carried on, taking a relaxed morning stroll ahead of the arrival of his fifth prime minister.<\/p>\n Leaders may come and go but Larry, who even has his own satirical Twitter account, is now a feline fixture of British political life.<\/p>\n “His family is loaded, so caviar and lobster on the menu for me from tomorrow,” Larry tweeted, looking ahead to arrival of the fabulously wealthy Sunak.<\/p>\n It might not all be plain sailing though.<\/p>\n Larry will have to share Number 10 — and its half-acre garden — with the Sunak family’s 18-month-old pet Labrador, Nova.<\/p>\n (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n