Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM paid for woman’s shopping because she had forgotten purse and had screaming children with her

Politician helped shopper ‘because she was a mum’

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has seen her reputation enhanced even further after she paid for a mother’s shopping at a supermarket when the woman forgot her purse.

Ms Ardern, whose compassionate response to the Christchurch mosque shootings last month has been praised around the world, said she paid for the woman’s shopping “because she was a mum”.

Helen Burness, the woman’s friend, took to Twitter to reveal the politician’s good deed.

“Like we didn’t love her enough, Jacinda Ardern paid for my friend’s shopping in the supermarket the other day when she had forgotten her purse and had two screaming kids in tow,” she said.

Ms Ardern confirmed the story during a media appearance on Thursday morning, when a reporter asked her if the account was true.

“Just when you think Jacinda Ardern couldn’t get any more lovely, low key and authentic... she goes and pays for your groceries at the supermarket, because you’ve got your shopping, have two kids with you and are about to put it all back as you forgot your wallet,” the unnamed mother said, according to The New Zealand Herald.

Ms Ardern, she added, is “a leader unlike any other”.

She went on to say that she tried to tell her children who Ms Ardern was but they cared more about her forgetting the purse.