Rishi Sunak owns up to being a fan of Jilly Cooper novels

The prime minister has admitted reports of him being a fan of the racy books penned by Jilly Cooper CBE are true.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Rishi Sunak name-checked some of her novels, but joked it was “unclear how that has emerged”.

He told the presenters: “You need to have escapism in your life.”

Cooper, now 86, is a former newspaper journalist who later wrote fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.

Riders is one of her most celebrated novels. Written in 1985, the story of Infidelity and betrayal in the Cotswolds was the first of 10 in the Rutshire Chronicles series, and was also adapted for TV.