Sir Keir Starmer has been compared to a “James Bond villain” in a scathing assessment of his New Year’s message to the nation.

Reacting to the message on GB News, hosts Tom Harwood and Nana Akua tore into the Prime Minister’s appearance in the footage, criticising his choice of “dark wardrobe” for the occasion.

Looking ahead to the New Year, the Prime Minister told Britons in his message: “In 2026, the choices we’ve made will mean more people will begin to feel positive change in your bills, your communities and your health service.

“But even more people will feel once again a sense of hope, a belief that things can and will get better, feel that the promise of renewal can become a reality, and my Government will make it that reality.”

Offering their verdict on the video message, Nana swiped: “I just can’t take my eyes off the goatee, the reflection from when he’s got some sort of shadow under his chin. It makes it look like he’s got a goatee.

“I mean, like what director… who directed that, for God’s sake? How did they not see that?!”

Tom agreed: “I don’t know if I quite like his dark shirt. He quite often does a very dark shirt with a dark suit jacket, and it all just looks a bit dark.

“And then he’s got this shadow underneath his chin. I mean, is he going for some sort of, I don’t know, Bond villain look?”

Nana then added: “Well, he’s wearing all black, isn’t he? Black is synonymous with very dark things.

“When you go to a funeral or something awful, you wear dark colours. Most people wear dark. Why is he wearing that as well?”

Asking for the thoughts of their panel, Nana pressed former Labour Adviser Scarlett MccGwire for her reaction: “What the hell is going on there?! Even sure you would say that he should sack the director?”

Ms MccGwire responded: “I think clearly somebody hasn’t reviewed it properly before he did it. I think the problem with what he’s wearing is I don’t think anybody would pretend that Keir has any taste in clothes.

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“I mean, he can do suits, but he’s one of the worst casual dressers I have ever come across.”

Tom then quipped: “The problem is, Lord Alli has stopped buying him all of his clothes!”

Ms MccGwire said: “I think that it’s about colours. The thing under his chin is very, very strange.

“And actually, that’s what you’re paid to do, look through the thing and say this is what it is and how do we change it? And it’s stuff I really don’t know, but it’s obviously about lighting or something like that. He clearly hasn’t got a goatee.”

Analysing the message delivered by Sir Keir, the ex-Labour adviser told GB News: “But if we get onto his message, I think to be fair, I think Keir has got to tell us that it is really, really tough and it’s going to take a lot to turn it round.

“And that’s what he’s saying, finally he’s saying we’re going to turn it around, but it’s going to be a difficult journey.”

Delivering his verdict on the message, commentator Charlie Rowley concluded: “There’s certainly been a lot of change, but it’s the change that nobody voted for. And they’ve been changing things, they’ve been changing their own minds, the amount of U-turns that they’ve carried out.

“And you described him as the sort of a Bond villain in that dark outfit Tom, I think there was a Bond movie Doctor No, and I think the public will be saying, ‘no, no, no’ in that spirit.”