Liz Truss leaves stage at Beccles event after banner depicting lettuce is unveiled

Liz Truss left the stage during an event held to promote her book after it was interrupted by pranksters who unfurled a banner depicting a lettuce and the words: “I crashed the economy”.

The stunt, organised by the group Led By Donkeys, took place at Beccles Public Hall and has since been widely shared online after cameras captured the moment.

It happened during a discussion on stage between Ms Truss and a host, with the banner gradually emerging from the ceiling above her, apparently controlled remotely.

The former South West Norfolk MP was clearly not amused - and responded by saying “That’s not funny” before exiting the limelight.

Sharing the video on social media, Led By Donkeys said in a post: “We just dropped in on Liz Truss’s pro-Trump speaking tour with a remote-controlled lettuce banner. She didn’t find it funny.”

The lettuce was a reference to Ms Truss’ brief time as Prime Minister, when the Daily Star newspaper held a stunt to see if her time in Downing Street would be outlasted by a decaying iceberg lettuce.

The moment the banner was unfolded occurred as Ms Truss gave her support to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, saying that “he will win”.

She continued, unaware of the banner descending behind her, saying: “It’s what I was saying about incumbents.

“I think the average American is not doing well, and people do vote on … I think it was Bill Clinton’s adviser who said ‘it’s the economy, stupid’.”

After the banner is pointed out to them, the host can be heard saying: “I have no idea where that has come from.”

Ms Truss swiftly exited the stage as some laughter could be heard from the crowd, although she was applauded off by others.

Beccles Public Hall had urged people to “remain civil” prior to the talk, held to promote Ms Truss’ book, ‘10 Days to Save the West’, which is mainly a personal account of her time as PM.

An advert posted to social media said: “We recognise that people have differing opinions on politics. And we have not disabled the comments section on this post. We would however encourage any dialogue to remain civil.”

TIT-FOR-TAT SPAT

Since she lost her seat in dramatic fashion at the general election in July, Ms Truss has criticised her victorious Labour opponent Terry Jermy, who narrowly beat her to become South West Norfolk MP by just 630 votes.

The result was a huge shock and was one of the biggest swings of the election, with Ms Truss losing her 26,000-vote majority.

The pair have been involved in a tit-for-tat the last two weeks, with Ms Truss accusing Mr Jermy of letting down constituents by not opposing the removal of pensioners’ winter fuel payments and the uncertainty surrounding funding for the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn.

Mr Jermy said he has been left “disappointed” at the attacks and that Ms Truss has failed to hand over any casework to him.

“As politicians, we engage in a democratic process and have to respect the voters’ verdict, whatever the result,” he said.

However, a spokesman for Ms Truss said she is “diligently completing outstanding casework” and that she cannot hand over “constituent’s confidential information” due to data protection laws.