Rory Stewart showed off his sense of humour before an episode of Question Time in a self-aware video with Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson.
Mr Stewart had been mocked on social media earlier in the week after admitting he had pretended to hold his phone in a video he shared to Twitter.
But ahead of a Question Time appearance in Epsom, the International Development Secretary, who is a candidate for the Conservative leadership, joked about the gaffe in a video with Ms Swinson.
In a message to her followers, Ms Swinson announced she was looking forward to her Question Time appearance before adding: “And this time Rory was holding the camera!”
Looking forward to #bbcqt – on BBC1 at 2235. #holdingthecamera pic.twitter.com/i2dNTPjOGr
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) May 30, 2019
Mr Stewart retweeted the post with the caption: “#holdingthecamera”.
#holdingthecamera https://t.co/iMd5GkUZvk
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) May 30, 2019
Mr Stewart’s Kew Gardens video received thousands of likes and comments, with one user asking: “are you pretending to hold your phone?” to which the Tory replied: “Yes”.
Now – if anyone is around and wants to talk – in Kew Gardens – for the next hour pic.twitter.com/E45A26Y5uR
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) May 28, 2019
Yes
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) May 28, 2019
A new Conservative leader is expected to be selected to succeed Theresa May by the end of July.