'Gillard shoe' put on eBay

2012-01-27 17:46

Sydney - A shoe advertised as the one Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard lost when she was bundled to a car by her bodyguards attracted a A$2 000 ($2 120) bid before it was pulled from eBay on Friday.

The navy-blue suede wedge shoe came off Gillard's foot on Thursday in Canberra as she fled angry Aboriginal rights protesters.

One of the activists ended up with it and said it would not be returned.

"She can't have it, this is going on eBay," she told reporters.

The online auction website took a listing for what was purportedly the missing shoe with a starting price of A$148.

"You are bidding on a used shoe. Please bear in mind also this is a single shoe, not a pair, so it would be difficult to walk in, unless you're the PM," it said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

But it was only online for around 25 minutes before eBay took it down amid concern it was a hoax and because sellers can only list items they own or the owner has given permission to sell.

"We know the owner is the prime minister," an eBay spokesperson told the newspaper.

"The seller did not state anywhere that they had permission, so we've removed it."

- AFP