Rishi Sunak strolls along sun-soaked California pier with his family in holiday photos

Rishi Sunak has been pictured on his summer holiday as his family enjoy a “really special” trip to California.

The prime minister, his wife Akshata Murty, and two young daughters Krishna and Anoushka beamed while on the busy Santa Monica Pier where they played funfair games.

The family will also head to Disneyland during their first “proper” family summer holiday in a few years, according to Mr Sunak.

He said his daughters were “very excited” about going to the theme park before joking they fear they will spend too much time at the Star Wars experience because he is a fan.

Wearing casual clothing, Mr Sunak said California is a meaningful place for the family as it is where he met his wife, and where he spent time whilst studying at Stanford University.

In his absence, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is taking over responsibilities, with Mr Sunak receiving daily updates from his private office.

Prime ministerial holiday photo shoots are a long tradition, with recent examples including David Cameron being pictured at a Portuguese fish market, and Theresa May hiking in Switzerland.

It comes after five Greenpeace activists were arrested after climbing onto the roof of the Sunak family manor house in North Yorkshire with a sign that read “no new oil”.

The climate activist group were protesting the prime minister’s “backing for a major expansion of North Sea oil and gas drilling” – where it will grant 100 new licences off the coast of Scotland.