Fact Check: Image Showing UK PM Rishi Sunak Lighting Diyas Is From 2020

The picture of Rishi Sunak lighting diyas is from November 2020, when he served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

News 24 – a Hindi news channel – has shared a picture of the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, lighting diyas (lamps) outside 11 Downing Street, London with a claim that it is recent and shows him celebrating Diwali.

The claim comes after his appointment as the new UK PM on 25 October. His ascension has become the point of celebration for many Indians, as Sunak is the first Hindu PM of the UK.

However, we found that the picture is from 2020, when Sunak was serving as the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and lived at 11 Downing Street. The official residence of a UK PM is at 10 Downing Street.

CLAIM

The claim suggests that the picture showing UK PM Sunak lighting diyas is recent. It was shared with a caption in Hindi, "ब्रिटेन के नए PM ऋषि सुनक ने लंदन के 11 डाउनिंग स्ट्रीट पर अपने घर के बाहर दिए जलाए."

(Translation: Britain's new PM Rishi Sunak lit lamps outside his house at 11 Downing Street in London.)

Archives of similar posts can be found here, here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We performed a reverse image search using the Google search engine, which led us to an article with a similar picture published in The Guardian, a British media organisation.

The article was published on 13 November 2020, when Sunak was serving as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

It further mentioned that he has urged other Hindus to follow the rules of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions while celebrating Diwali.

We also came across the same image as the viral one on Getty Images. It was uploaded in November 2020 and was captioned, "Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak lights candles outside 11 Downing Street, London, ahead of Diwali celebrations on Saturday."

Further, we found a video posted by Sunak on his official Twitter handle in 2020, which shows him lighting diyas outside his then residence, 11 Downing Street, also referred to as Number 11.

I’ve placed our rangoli outside No.11, the mithai are set to be delivered and the family Zoom is booked in.

I know things will feel a bit different, and it’s hard not to be able to see family, but we will get through this together.

Happy Diwali everyone! pic.twitter.com/4lDI8bH1HJ

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) November 14, 2020

While Number 11 is the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the PM of UK stays at Number 10 or 10 Downing Street.

Evidently, an old video of UK PM Rishi Sunak lighting diyas was falsely shared as recent.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)