Rishi Sunak has said that he went without “lots of things” as a child growing up in the UK, citing Sky TV as an example. In an interview with ITV to be broadcast on Wednesday, the prime minister said a lot of sacrifices were made by his parents as education was their priority. Pressed to give an example of something that he grew up without, Sunak said: “There’ll be all sorts of things that I would’ve wanted as a kid that I couldn’t have. Famously, Sky TV, so that was something that we never had growing up actually.” Sunak, who was educated at the private boarding school Winchester College in Hampshire, said: “What is more important is my values and how I was raised. And I was raised in a household where hard work was really important … service to your community was important. And my parents worked very hard for what they had and they wanted their kids to have a better life.” The interview with ITV’s Paul Brand created a big election headache for Sunak last week, with the prime minister forced to apologise for missing part of the D-day commemorations in France to record it. The prime minister was heavily criticised for leaving the 80th anniversary events early for a pre-recorded programme, with opposition parties calling it crass and a dereliction of duty.
During the interview, the Conservative leader apologised to Brand for his lateness and told him the “incredible” commemorations in Normandy “all just ran over”. When asked if he had the opportunity to meet any of the veterans, the prime minister replied: “Gosh, lots over yesterday and today. Yeah. I’ve already spoke to almost everyone that was there, I hope.” The Tory leader also gave his view on Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, who claimed the prime minister did not “care” about British history after his decision to leave the D-day events. When asked what are Farage’s best qualities, Sunak replied: “I really don’t know him, Paul. I think I’ve met him maybe once in my life.”
Sunak also brushed off suggestions that Reform would lure voters away from the Conservative party, adding: “At the end of the day, as I said, one of two people is going to be prime minister on 5 July. It’s either Keir Starmer or me. “A vote for anyone who’s not a Conservative candidate is a vote to put Keir Starmer in office.” The Leader Interviews: Rishi Sunak will be broadcast on ITV1 at 7pm.