IT will not be a new sensation for Theresa May to feel as though she’s damned if she does, and damned if she doesn’t.

The prime minister has a thick skin when it comes to criticism, whether from inside or outside her own party.

Compared to her disastrous speech at the Conservative conference last year, this week’s efforts during visits to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are nothing in comparison.

Mrs May was twice filmed breaking out her dance moves, once in front of school children in Cape Town, and a second time with Scouts in Nairobi.

Both times her shimmies and shakes were roundly mocked on social media, with comparisons ranging from a robot to a baby giraffe. The prime minister herself admitted her lack of rhythm would probably not get her onto the line up for Strictly Come Dancing – although the same failing didn’t stop Ed Balls.

Yes, the footage of her dancing is cringeworthy, but what exactly is the protocol when you’re desperate not to cause any offence to a foreign nation while on a trade-gathering tour?

She must know she is no Darcey Bussell, so at the risk of upsetting her hosts, should she have instead stood stock still so her two left feet remained a state secret?

The prime minister clearly thought sacrificing what is left of her personal dignity was a price worth paying to secure any deals she could before the focus switches back to Brexit.

Whatever insults come her way, at least she had a go.