While preparing to deliver milk in Leeds early on Wednesday morning, Boris Johnson was accused of – and filmed, unluckily – ducking questions from a Good Morning Britain reporter by hiding in a large fridge. (Conservative sources later said he was “categorically not hiding”.) As a plan, this has its limitations, but for sheer oddity, it deserves a place among the classic ad hoc press strategies of the 21st century. Here are the top five.

Theresa May

On the campaign trail, May was often accused of hiding from voters, preferring set-piece speeches before carefully curated audiences. In April 2017, she appeared at Crathes village hall in Aberdeenshire in what might have looked – in photos, at least – like public interaction, but the crowd was made up of local Tory activists. To prevent anyone else getting wind of the engagement ahead of time, the hall was booked that day for a “child party” from 10am to 5pm.

David Cameron

Before politics, Cameron worked in PR, and had a knack for avoiding tricky questions. He was once so desperate not to talk to the Guardian’s then-media editor, Janine Gibson, that he pretended to be his office cleaner when answering the phone. “I can’t prove it was him,” she said later, “but it certainly sounded a lot like him.”

Nigel Farage

In 2015, when Farage was still the leader of Ukip, he was trying to leave the party’s London HQ to climb into an awaiting car. Unfortunately, the prankster Jolyon Rubinstein was outside with a camera crew making a BBC show called An Idiot’s Guide to Politics. Later on, Farage would learn to be patient – reportedly hiding aboard his campaign bus to avoid getting milkshaked – but on this occasion he had places to be, and tried to sneak past Rubinstein disguised as a builder, complete with hi-vis coat and hard hat. It didn’t work.

Ken Livingstone

Livingstone tried to defend antisemitic remarks made by a Labour MP by going on TV in 2016 and making things much, much worse. After one appearance, he was pursued by journalists through Millbank studios, where he reportedly took refuge in a disabled toilet. He remained inside for 20 minutes, but when he opened the door the press were still there.

Jeremy Hunt

A journalist recalled that in New York in 2010, Hunt concealed himself behind a large tree to avoid being seen by journalists as he arrived at a dinner hosted by James Murdoch. Hunt later confirmed the story at the Leveson inquiry, while quibbling over the detail. “There may or may not have been trees,” he said.