Former PM Liz Truss joins bare-knuckle fight thug who battered OAP to launch his whiskey – and even copies catchphrase

LAUNCH party guest of honour Liz Truss happily joined in as a thug plugged his Irish whiskey.

Bare-knuckle fighter Dougie Joyce attacked a man of 78 in a bar and has links to gangsters, while Truss hopes for a political comeback.

Liz Truss happily joined in as thug Dougie Joyce plugged his Irish whiskeyInstagram InstagramJoyce proudly handed Truss a bottle of the booze for a promotional video[/caption] InstagramEx-PM Truss beams next to bare-knuckle fighter Dougie Joyce[/caption]

Joyce proudly handed her a bottle of the booze for a promotional video. He said his catchphrase: “Just remember, Dougie Joyce loves ya.”

The ex-PM then held up the spirit and beamed: “Liz Truss loves you.”

Last night, a source close to guest-of-honour Truss insisted she had not been paid to appear at last month’s event at non-league Scunthorpe United’s stadium.

But that raised further questions over her apparent lack of judgment as she is considering a comeback to frontline politics.

One source said: “Liz Truss either doesn’t understand the implications or doesn’t care. Either way this is a serious lapse.

‘Aggressive and violent man’

“She’s a former Prime Minister and has to be extremely careful who she associates herself with.

“You have to wonder if anyone did the due diligence.”

Joyce, who has links to the notorious Gooch gang, was captured on CCTV attacking the widower.

He was seen shouting and pointing at his victim before unleashing three vicious blows.

Joyce was jailed for 19 months by Manchester crown court in November 2023. At the time, Det Con Natalie Hollows said: “Joyce is an aggressive and violent man.

“Joyce was wearing a large gold pyramid-style ring, causing significant injury.”

Joyce later used a smuggled phone to film himself laughing in his prison cell.

The 36-year-old married dad of three was handed a further 13-month sentence for violent disorder following a fight at a wake involving a rival family.

Traveller Joyce, who once boasted he would be “the next Tyson Fury”, is a cousin of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty — and was involved in a 2011 fight which saw part of Paddy’s ear chewed off.

Joyce, of Salford, now claims to have since turned his life around and says he is doing charity work.

He wrote on Instagram of his launch for Joyce’s Irish Whiskey: “It was a great honour to have former Prime Minister Liz Truss as a special guest.

InstagramA source close to Truss insisted she had not been paid to appear alongside Joyce[/caption] SWNSBare-knuckle fighter Joyce attacked a man of 78 in a bar[/caption] Liz Truss was Prime Minister in 2022, lasting 49 daysPA

“Having her there truly meant a lot and added a distinguished touch to the occasion.”

Last night he declined to comment.

A spokesman for Truss — who lasted 49 days in No10 in 2022 — said: “She attended the event to support the people working to regenerate the town and Scunthorpe FC.”

At the weekend Truss, 49, appeared at a conference in Hungary with its PM Viktor Orban, a stooge of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Last year she was accused of “propagating conspiracy theories” during a trip to the US.

And she was criticised for taking part in an interview with President Donald Trump’s controversial ex-strategist Steve Bannon — remaining silent as he praised far right activist Tommy Robinson as a “hero”.