Jeremy Hunt followed around by a sousaphone player for the second time

In July, Channel 4's The Last Leg programme found a huge hit when it paid a sousaphone player to follow Jeremy Hunt around "to make him look like an idiot".

The show's presenter Adam Hills said they took inspiration from a man in the US, who mocked a KKK rally by accompanying it with the "comically large instrument".

And the stunt was such a success that Hills and co decided to repeat it at the Conservative Party conference.

The Health Secretary has had a difficult couple of weeks, coming under fire from junior doctors over new contracts which, they say, would cut pay and lead to longer hours.

Hills said that a major climbdown from Mr Hunt on the issue came just two days after the latest sousaphone stunt, adding: "I'm not going to say we're responsible, but..."

Mr Hunt has since become embroiled in another row, this time with a Commons committee over the alleged suppression of evidence about the benefits of a "sugar tax".

Health select committee chairman Sarah Wollaston has questioned whether political pressure has been exerted to prevent the release of a review by Public Health England (PHE), which looked into the merits of higher taxes on sugary drinks and sweets.

The review was originally expected to be published in July and Dr Wollaston wrote to Mr Hunt last month, asking him to reveal the findings ahead of a planned inquiry by the committee into childhood obesity.

But Mr Hunt argued that the review was "integral to ongoing policy development" and would be published later this year with a government strategy on childhood obesity.

Additional reporting by agencies