Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor leading the race — so far — to be the next British Prime Minister in succession to Boris Johnson, has been attacked by his enemies for many alleged shortcomings but most recently for wearing £500 Prada shoes to a building site.

One “reader” of the Labour supporting Daily Mirror expressed his outrage: “What does these rich MPs know about the struggle the majority of UK citizens are going through, £450 would pay the rent/mortgage, buy 2-4 weeks food pay for the energy for just over a month. They don’t know how to suffer.”

Readers of the Daily Mail, which would be happier with either trade minister Penny Mordaunt or the foreign secretary as Prime Minister, also expressed their anger.

One said: “In touch with ordinary people? 500 for one pair of shoes? That is more than half the state pension!!!! If he becomes PM the Tories will be gone!”

Another commented: “500 for shoes! He is completely out of touch.”

A third pointed out that Sunak was “wearing a pair of shoes that would pay 1/7 of your energy bill next year”.

The Mirror’s story said: “The Tory leadership contender is known for his expensive tastes — and there was no exception as he pointed at clods of earth on a visit to Teeside Freeport. He’s the Tory leadership contender with expensive tastes, from the swimming pool at his country manor to his £180 coffee cup and £5-a-bag crisps. Now Rishi Sunak has been spotted wearing £490 Prada suede shoes… on a visit to a building site.”

It told its readers: “The millionaire ex-Chancellor donned the brown loafers as he toured construction at Teesside Freeport.”

After pointing at clods of earth Sunak told Teesside Live, a local TV station: “I know things are tough and people are feeling anxious about how they’re going to pay these bills”.

Sunak admitted he couldn’t make cost-of-living pressures “go away with a magic wand”, but support would be targeted “at those who need it most”.

Sunak was visiting a building site with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who has backed his bid for No. 10.

The Mirror was more interested in Sunak’s shoes: “It’s thought the shoes were old, and it’s not known how much the Tory leadership contender paid for them. They no longer appear to be available on Prada’s website, where loafers start at £650. Another site — The Luxury Closet — lists them for £490 but has them on sale at £176.”

But £176 for a pair of loafers, though still expensive, makes less of an anti-Sunak story.

The Mirror sketched in Sunak’s background: “The former Chancellor, who together with his non-dom wife — the daughter of a tech tycoon — is worth £730m, has often been teased for his pricy toys. They have been building a tennis court alongside a gym, a 12-metre by 5-metre swimming pool, four showers and utilities and storage rooms.

“Fitness fanatic Mr Sunak begins his days with a workout on his £1,750 Peloton exercise bike, led virtually by hunky Brooklyn exercise guru Cody Rigsby.

“He posed in £95 ‘slider’ shoes in a photo op and posed for a pre-Budget photo after the ravages of Covid while sipping from a £180 Bluetooth ‘smart mug’. Mr Sunak insisted his family drives a Volkswagen Golf, which they use to get around London, but he has four cars including at his Santa Monica pad. He and his wife also donated more than £100,000 to Winchester College — one of the most expensive private schools in the country, where he was head boy.”

Many other papers have also picked up on Sunak’s loafers. The Mail’s headline read: “Tory leadership frontrunner Rishi Sunak strikes his best ‘pointing at things’ pose on trip to the North East (though he might want to rethink £500 Prada shoes for visit to building site).” Reuters