Keir Starmer and his family are to take a short overseas holiday over the new year, Downing Street has said.

While the prime minister has the use of Chequers, his official country retreat, this will be his first overseas family holiday since the general election, with a planned break in Europe during August cancelled due to a spate of riots.

Starmer would spend Christmas with his family at Chequers before heading abroad “for a few days” over the new year, his official spokesperson said. He did not say where they would be going.

Asked if Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, would be officially in charge for this period, the spokesperson said Starmer would remain at the helm.

The prime minister has talked previously about his efforts to carve out time with his wife, Victoria, and their teenage children, and of the difficulties of doing this given his job.

In August, their break was called off due to a series of violent incidents in towns and cities after the death of three young girls in a stabbing attack at a dance class in Southport on 29 July. Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, has pleaded not guilty to their murder.

While there is an acceptance that politicians tend to perform better in their jobs if they are able to properly unwind, the optics of leaving the country when something major is taking place can be difficult.

As foreign secretary, Dominic Raab faced criticism

 for staying at a family beach holiday in Greece for several days as the Afghan government collapsed after the US-UK military withdrawal from the country.

In a more direct parallel with Starmer’s decision in August, Boris Johnson was condemned for what was seen as a delayed return from a family trip to the US in 2011 when serious rioting was taking in place in London, where he was mayor.

Johnson’s sister, Rachel, said recently that part of this was because the family were on a motorhome holiday and had no mobile phone signal. When the news did arrive, she said, Johnson’s then wife, Marina Wheeler, was too short to reach the pedals of the motorhome, so he had to drive it to an airport before flying home.