Sanna Marin shares topless photos 'shouldn't have been taken'

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has received a negative drug test after a controversial video of her partying was leaked last week.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin says she is willing to take a drug test after wild videos of her partying emerged this week.

Sanna Marin, the Finnish prime minister, has apologised after two of her celebrity friends were photographed topless behind the desk in her office.

Marin, 36, has spent a week fending off criticism over her liking for partying after leaked videos showed her dancing during a night out with several other well-known young Finns.

The picture that has caused the latest uproar showed two social media influencers kissing while covering their breasts with a sign that said “Finland”. It was taken on July 10 in Marin’s official Helsinki residence, Kesaranta, a 19th-century villa overlooking the Baltic. The desk is used for video conferences with other European leaders.

The night in question was four weeks before the party that started the political circus around Marin’s private life, although the photograph first circulated widely on Tuesday.

One of the women has been identified as Sabina Sarkka, 33, a model, beauty technician, reality television contestant and former Miss Finland who makes a living mostly through advertising on her social media profiles.

On Tuesday Marin reiterated that she was entitled to a healthy social life but said she was sorry that she had allowed an “inappropriate” photograph to be taken after the Ruisrock music festival, after which some of her friends had gone back to Kesaranta.

“The guests used the downstairs lavatory. Apparently one of the pictures was taken in that situation,” she said. “That kind of picture shouldn’t have been taken, but otherwise nothing untoward happened.”

Earlier this week Marin shared a negative drug test, after footage emerged showing her partying and dancing wildly with her friends.

The leader announced last week that she would undergo a drug test to dismiss concerns that she may have been under the influence in the leaked videos.

Marin’s office have since confirmed the tests showed no traces of narcotics in her system

“Never in my life, not even in my youth, have I ever used any drugs,” she said on Friday.

The leather-jacket-wearing PM, whose partying lifestyle has been fodder for her critics, insisted she was doing "perfectly legal things" after the footage from earlier this month emerged of her drinking with a group of celebrity friends.

The videos show Marin dancing and singing songs by Finnish rapper Petri Nygård and pop singer Antti Tuiski, alongside Finnish public figures including TV and radio hosts, influencers and musicians. In the video, the PM is dressed in a black shirt and white pants, and at one point is on her knees with her hands behind her head, grinding to the music.

Finland’s Prime Minister @MarinSanna is in the headlines after a video of her partying was leaked today.

She has previously been criticized for attending too many music festivals & spending too much on partying instead of ruling.

The critics say it’s not fitting for a PM. pic.twitter.com/FbOhdTeEGw

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 17, 2022

She said she was “very upset” the video has been leaked, saying they were from a party which took place in two apartments and continued in two bars at least two weeks ago.

“I spent the evening with my friends, partied, even in a rowdy way, danced and sang,” she said. “It was about me having a night out with friends. Partying — even in a boisterous way — dancing and singing. Personally, I did not take drugs, nor did I consume anything other than alcohol. I danced, sang, and partied — perfectly legal things. And I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen or known of others (using drugs).”

Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

But according to public broadcaster YLE, some Finnish media outlets had reported that the term “jauhojengi” - meaning “powder gang”, in reference to cocaine - can be heard in one of the vidos. “However, social media users have pointed out that the term used is more likely to be "jallujengi" or "jallu jenny", an apparent reference to the Finnish liquor Jaloviina,” the outlet noted.

This is not the first time Marin has made headlines for partying. Just last year she was forced to apologise for clubbing until 4am after coming into contact with a Covid case.

She had been out to dinner and drinks just hours after her Foreign Minister had tested positive, having initially been told she did not need to isolate as she had been fully vaccinated – but later missing a text that advised her to do so.

“I am very sorry for not understanding that I needed to do that,” she said in a statement on Facebook at the time.

Following Friday's media conference, Riikka Purra, leader of the right-wing Finns Party told local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the PM's actions would negatively effect her popularity.

“There is a shadow of doubt over her, which clearly did not disappear during her press conference,” she said. “One way or another, she has to get rid of the suspicions and prove them wrong, or her credibility will suffer a lot.”

The young leader also has a dedicated band of supporters, and has gained favour with young voters for her sense of style and commitment to work-life balance.

Marin was dubbed the world’s “coolest politician” this week by German newspaper Bild, who said she "lead (Finland) through one of the most dangerous crises of her time because of the warlike activity of her neighbour Russia – and still finds time to celebrate."

Marin has been a loud voice against Russian President Vladimir Putin since his country invaded Ukraine in February, leading the charge alongside Sweden's leader Magdalena Andersson, for their two "neutral" nations to join NATO.

With The Times.