Boris Johnson has been pictured wearing the same pair of socks on three days in the last week.
The Tory leadership favourite was seen sporting the distinctive hosiery at a hustings event in Birmingham on Saturday.
He also wore identical footwear in footage of interviews on Monday night yesterday - raising questions about whether he has run out of clothes after being forced to flee the south east London flat where he has been living.
The £5.99 socks bought from the British Museum shop depict King Ashurbanipal, who was ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
At the time of his reign between 669 and 631 BC, it was the largest empire in the world and stretched from Cyprus in the west to Iran in the east. Its capital Nineveh was the world’s largest city.
King Ashurbanipal called himself ‘king of the world’.
When he was five, Mr Johnson told his sister Rachael that what he wanted to be in life was to be world king.
The British Museum held an exhibition on King Ashurbanipal between November 2018 and February 2019.
The museum's online shop currently shows that the socks are sold out.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he owned ‘multiple pairs’.
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As he appeared on stage in front of party members on Saturday, one of the former foreign secretary’s socks appeared to be inside out.
Mr Johnson made no public appearances on Sunday, although he was pictured with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds in the Sussex countryside. His socks were not visible in the photographs.
When Mr Johnson broke cover on Monday for an interview with the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg, he was again wearing what looked like the same socks.
Yesterday, the leadership contender sat down with talkRadio’s Ross Kempsell at his campaign headquarters for an interview.
As Mr Johnson discussed Brexit, he exposed his ankles and showed off what appeared to be socks with the same design - this time with one inside out again.
Mr Johnson is thought to have been living out of a suitcase since he fled the south London home he shared with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds after they were recorded by neighbours having a heated argument in the early hours of Friday morning.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
