Boris Johnson compared to Donald Trump after giving speech in front of police officers

Boris Johnson's speech on Thursday evening in West Yorkshire provided one of the oddest moments of his premiership so far, as he was inexplicably flanked by police cadets.

The prime minister's rambling speech at the National Police Air Service base featured several unusual moments, including one cadet fainting because Johnson had spoken for far too long.

However, the image of the current prime minister being flanked by police and giving a speech where he mostly denounced his opposition in the Commons was slightly unsettling.

One of the strongest condemnations came from police chief constable John Robins who had been told that the speech at the base had been cancelled before saying he was 'disappointed' to officers used as a political backdrop.

He is quoted by the Independent as saying:

I was therefore disappointed to see my police officers as a backdrop to the part of the speech that was not related to recruitment.

I repeat that I am pleased that we were chosen as the focal point of the national recruitment campaign launch, but the good news of extra officers was overshadowed by the media coverage of other events.

It was the understanding of West Yorkshire police that any involvement of our officers was solely about police officer recruitment. We had no prior knowledge that the speech would be broadened to other issues until it was delivered.

Although it would be churlish to call Johnson anything other than the prime minister but there were striking similarities between his speech on Thursday and a speech that Donald Trump gave in August 2017 when he was also had young police officers as a backdrop.

This is hardly a new thing though as world leaders far and wide have consistently used their police forces or military during speeches or photo opportunities.

Here is the late Robert Mugabe, the former prime minister of Zimbabwe, who died on Friday aged 95, giving a speech at a funeral, in front of military personnel in 2017.

Nicolas Maduro, the maligned leader of Venezuela, spoke in front of his nations army after protestors marched in January to demand that he step down.

Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader is no stranger to a military-style photo op.

Picture: STR/AFP/Getty Images

And of course, who could forget Vladimir Putin who is basically surrounded by the Russian military on an almost daily basis.

In the interest of fairness here is also a picture of Tony Blair in front of soldiers too.