MICHAEL Gove says he was a “little bit” surprised by how much he was mocked after a video of him dancing in an Aberdeen nightclub went viral.

The Tory minister stunned revellers in the Granite City with his somewhat unconventional dance moves.

Footage of the clip was posted on social media, leading to Gove being roundly panned.

The Cabinet Office chief laughed off the criticism as he spoke for the first time about the incident.

It has originally been reported that Gove showed up to the dancefloor, above O’Neill’s bar, alone. But the Tory ministers said he was at the venue with a friend.

He told Commons magazine, House: “Aberdeen is where I was brought up, I love Aberdeen, I love Aberdeen’s nightlife.

“It was a relaxed bank holiday with a good friend. It was a nice way to end the summer.”

READ MORE: Why was Michael Gove dancing at an Aberdeen nightclub?

Videos of Gove’s suspect moves had been branded cringeworthy by social media users.

Adam Taylor, co-manager of the Pipe club night, said Gove had been in the O’Neill’s pub downstairs and appeared interested when he came out and heard music.

He recalled: “I asked if he wanted to come upstairs and if he liked dance music and explained to him ‘it is pretty lively music, are you sure it’s your kind of night’, making sure he actually wanted to come up.

“He said ‘I love to dance’ and I said ‘it’s £5 to come up’ and he said ‘even for the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster?'”

Taylor went on: “I expected him to go up and maybe just have a couple of drinks, the pub had closed, but when I next went up he was having a real good dance, he had incredible energy and stamina, he just kept dancing the whole night.

“He was pretty much the centre of attention apart from the music by that point, everyone was trying to get photos with him, a lot of people were buying him drinks, he seemed to be having a good time.”