In the video footage of the incident that has been widely shared on social media, Good Morning Britain reporter Jonathan Swain is seen surprising Johnson at a photo-op event in Yorkshire, where he was helping to deliver milk.

Swain asks the prime minister whether he would be interviewed on the show, which is presented by Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid, provoking a foul-mouthed reply from his press secretary: “Oh for f**k’s sake.”

Johnson does eventually reply to say: “I'll be with you in a second” and walks off, before Morgan, who is watching the comical scenes, exclaims “he’s gone into the fridge.”

The incident on Wednesday morning prompted a wave of ridicule online, with many making fun of Johnson for seemingly running away from scrutiny – a running theme during this general election campaign.

One person on Twitter used the example of former Labour leader Ed Miliband to ridicule the PM. They remarked that Miliband was regularly accused of not being “tough enough” and so “what we need is a tough guy, a real strongman who'll hide in a fridge,” like Johnson.

British comedian Josie Long also mocked Johnson and suggestions that he could ever be compared to a British PM like Winston Churchill. There were also some funny “fridge-based” gifs and memes.

Johnson has been widely criticized for failing to agree to a number of interviews that all the other party leaders have participated in – particularly his refusal to a one-to-one with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, seen as the number one interviewer for his uncomfortable forensic line of questioning.