Angela Rayner did not gift portrait of herself to Vietnamese politician

Angela Rayner did not present Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister with a portrait of herself, as has been misleadingly claimed on social media.

Posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) claim that a photo shows the Labour Deputy Prime Minister giving a framed portrait of herself to Nguyễn Hoà Bình during his visit to the UK on 18 March.

One post which has been shared hundreds of times says: “Angela Rayner gave a portrait of herself to the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam today. Yes this is real. What is wrong with her?”

But this is not accurate. The portrait was actually a gift for Ms Rayner, rather than the other way around.

A translated caption on an official photo by Vietnam News Agency of the two politicians holding the painting states: “Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh (left) presents a souvenir to British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.”

The frame of the painting also includes a plaque, which (when zoomed in) can be seen to contain an inscription which reads: “With the compliments of H.E. Mr. NGUYEN HOA BINH Member of the Political Bureau First Deputy Prime Minister of the S. R. of Viet Nam”.

In 2017, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Adern, was also gifted a painting of herself from Vietnam's then-Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Misleading claims about politicians can spread quickly on social media if unchallenged. Before amplifying something you see there it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trusted and verified source.

We’ve previously checked other false claims about MPs, including that a BBC article reported Ms Rayner was replacing Rachel Reeves as chancellor, and a claim that Keir Starmer has abolished the NHS.