Twitter users were quick to spot Liz Truss seemingly recreating an outfit of Margaret Thatcher’s for her appearance at Channel 4’s Tory leadership debate.

The Foreign Secretary donned a black blazer and white shirt with a large bow for the event on Friday, matching exactly what the former Conservative prime minister wore in a 1979 election broadcast.

Hundreds of viewers took to the social media platform to point out the striking similarity.

One tweet, which garnered more than 4,500 likes, wrote: “Liz Truss has recreated Margaret Thatcher’s appearance from her 1979 election broadcast down to the last detail.”

Another joked: “Liz Truss’s Margaret Thatcher Tribute Act is available for hire”.

Ms Truss joined fellow Tory leader contenders Tom Tugendhat, Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt for the first live televised debate, hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

Asked when she had stood up for integrity and honesty, Liz Truss told the debate: “I stood by Boris Johnson, of course, I raised issues with him in private, but I supported him for the leadership election.”

“I was part of his Cabinet and I owed him my loyalty.”

She also appeared to take a swipe at Mr Sunak’s record as chancellor in her final remarks.

Speaking after the ex-chancellor, she said: “We face grave challenges as a country, the worst economic crisis for a generation, an appalling war perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine, after decades of very slow growth.

“Now is not the time for a continuity of our current economic policy.

“We need to be bold, we need to do things differently, we need to cut taxes, we need to unleash growth, and we need to unleash the potential of all of the people across our great country.”