Politics latest news: Sky News criticised by Tory MPs over edit of Sunak being challenged by member of the public

Sky News has been criticised by Conservative MPs over their edit of footage of Rishi Sunak being challenged by a member of the public.

A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed the Prime Minister being grilled by a woman over the state of the NHS as he walked along a shopping street during a walkabout in Winchester.

The woman told Mr Sunak: “You could stop it all. You could make it go back to how it used to be where we had… where if you had a problem you could go to the hospital. My daughter spent seven hours waiting…”

Mr Sunak was then told by someone close to him that he needed to move onto his next engagement and the Prime Minister started to walk away, at which point the original clip shown by Sky News ended.

However, in the full version of the clip which was later aired, Mr Sunak replied: “I am sorry to hear that. The key thing is that we have resolved all the industrial action in the NHS apart from the junior doctors who are still not saying yes...”. The exchange ended with a handshake.

Philip Davies, a senior Tory MP and a long-standing political ally of the Prime Minister, said: “It’s completely and utterly outrageous. Sky should absolutely apologise and they should delete the original clip. They’re clearly more interested in clickbait than they are in being accurate, impartial journalists.”

Nadhim Zahawi, a former party chairman, added that another journalist who deleted their retweet of the edited footage and then posted the entire clip had done “the right thing”

Join the conversation in the comments section here. 

05:28 PM GMT

That's all for this week...

Thank you for joining The Telegraph in its coverage of a busy week in Westminster, as Rishi Sunak passed his Rwanda Bill after a backbench Tory rebellion over illegal migration fizzled out.

My colleague Jack Maidment will be back early on Monday to guide you through the latest.

05:19 PM GMT

Britain could sue Ireland for failing to investigate Omagh bombing

Britain is considering suing Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights for failing to investigate the Omagh car bombing by the Real IRA, in which 29 people were killed 25 years ago, writes James Crisp, our Europe Editor.

The move is retaliation for Ireland’s rare interstate case against the UK over its Legacy Act, which offers an amnesty to Troubles-era killers, including British veterans, in exchange for information on murders.

Dublin argues that the Legacy Act is incompatible with human rights law because it replaces police investigations with a commission offering immunity. The Irish case was formally lodged at the Strasbourg court on Friday.

Read the full story here

04:55 PM GMT

Watch: Rishi Sunak heckled by member of the public

04:49 PM GMT

Sturgeon deleted all Covid WhatsApps, inquiry told

Nicola Sturgeon and her deputy deleted all of their pandemic WhatsApp messages, the Covid Inquiry has heard.

At a hearing in Edinburgh on Friday, the inquiry was told that Ms Sturgeon, the former first minister, had “retained no messages whatsoever” over the pandemic, while John Swinney, her deputy, used an “auto-delete function”.

Ms Sturgeon had repeatedly refused to say whether she deleted her WhatsApp messages after the inquiry complained that key decision-makers had failed to hand over the information.

However, during evidence from Lesley Fraser, the director general corporate of the Scottish Government, Jamie Dawson KC, lead counsel for the inquiry’s module on Scotland, revealed that all of Ms Sturgeon’s messages had been deleted.

Neil Johnston and Simon Johnson have the full story

04:19 PM GMT

Sky News criticised by Tory MPs over Sunak edit

Sky News has been criticised by Conservative MPs over their edit of footage of Rishi Sunak being challenged by a member of the public.

A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed the Prime Minister being grilled by a woman over the state of the NHS as he walked along a shopping street during a walkabout in Winchester.

The woman told Mr Sunak: “You could stop it all. You could make it go back to how it used to be where we had… where if you had a problem you could go to the hospital. My daughter spent seven hours waiting…”

Mr Sunak was then told by someone close to him that he needed to move onto his next engagement and the Prime Minister started to walk away, at which point the original clip shown by Sky News ended.

However, in the full version of the clip which was later aired, Mr Sunak replied: “I am sorry to hear that. The key thing is that we have resolved all the industrial action in the NHS apart from the junior doctors who are still not saying yes...”. The exchange ended with a handshake.

Philip Davies, a senior Tory MP and a long-standing political ally of the Prime Minister, said: “It’s completely and utterly outrageous. Sky should absolutely apologise and they should delete the original clip. They’re clearly more interested in clickbait than they are in being accurate, impartial journalists.”

Nadhim Zahawi, a former party chairman, added that another journalist who deleted their retweet of the edited footage and then posted the entire clip had done “the right thing”.

04:06 PM GMT

A view of Rishi Sunak's full exchange with voter

04:03 PM GMT

Good afternoon

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, guiding you through the rest of the day.

03:51 PM GMT

Starmer criticises Sunak after PM was confronted over state of NHS

Sir Keir Starmer criticised Rishi Sunak as the Labour leader responded to the Prime Minister’s interaction with a member of the public earlier today (see the post below at 13.34).

The Labour leader told broadcasters: “I’ve seen that clip and it further reinforces I think what many people across the country think, that this Prime Minister doesn’t talk to people, doesn’t engage, doesn’t understand, what so many people are going through.

“We have a terrible problem with our waiting lists and that is why we have been really clear that we would get rid of the non-dom tax status where the super-rich don’t pay their tax in this country and use that to bring down those waiting lists… We have got a plan, we engage with people over our plan, we don’t laugh and walk away.”

03:23 PM GMT

Labour would fast-track countryside wind turbines and solar panels under net zero drive

Labour has pledged to fast-track the building of wind and solar farms in the countryside, raising concerns rural communities will struggle to block net zero projects.

Under the party’s plans, the wait farmers face to have green energy schemes approved and connected to the grid by new pylons will be “slashed from years to months”.

Writing in The Telegraph, Daniel Zeichner, the shadow farming minister, said that the proposals showed that “Labour is the party that will deliver for rural Britain”.

You can read the full story here.

03:01 PM GMT

Poll: Labour maintain lead over Tories in Blue Wall

Labour has maintained its one-point lead over the Tories in crucial Blue Wall seats, according to a new Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll.

The survey, conducted between Jan 17-18, put Labour on 31 per cent of the vote and the Tories on 30 per cent.

Both parties were up by one point when compared to the company’s previous poll conducted on Dec 4.

The Blue Wall refers to affluent constituencies in the south of England which have traditionally been held by the Tories but where support for the Conservatives has slipped in recent years.

The Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll covers 42 such seats, all of which were won by the Tories at the 2019 general election.

02:36 PM GMT

UK offers DUP patriotic rebrand of Irish Sea border

The UK has offered the DUP a patriotic rebrand of the Irish Sea border in an attempt to get the unionists to back Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

British negotiators hoping to end the DUP’s nearly two-year boycott of Stormont have suggested renaming the Windsor Framework’s Green Lane the “UK Internal Market Lane” instead.

The DUP has refused to return to power-sharing since February 2022 because it fears the border chills intra-UK trade and loosens Northern Ireland’s ties to Britain.

You can read the full story here.

01:53 PM GMT

Streeting: Sunak has 'no idea of the misery NHS patients are going through'

Wes Streeting claimed Rishi Sunak “has no idea of the misery NHS patients are going through” as the shadow health secretary responded to the Prime Minister being challenged by a member of the public over the state of the NHS (see the post below at 13.34).

The Labour frontbencher tweeted:

01:34 PM GMT

Sunak challenged by member of the public over state of the NHS

Rishi Sunak was challenged by a member of the public over the state of the NHS and his handling of strike action during a walkabout in Winchester today.

A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed Mr Sunak being grilled by a woman as he walked along a shopping street.

Mr Sunak told the woman: “Last year, towards the end of the year, we had two months with virtually no strikes in October and November and do you know what happened? The waiting list fell by 150,000.

“It just shows that when there aren’t strikes we really can make progress. We didn’t last year because of all the strikes…”

The woman said: “But you could stop it all. You could make it, go back to how it used to be where we had… where if you had a problem you could go to the hospital. My daughter spent seven hours waiting…”

Mr Sunak was then told by someone close to him that he needed to move onto his next engagement and the Prime Minister started to walk away but said: “I am sorry to hear that. The key thing is that we have resolved all the industrial action in the NHS apart from the junior doctors who are still not saying yes...”.

The exchange ended with a handshake.

12:58 PM GMT

Just a quarter of voters confident Tories can give UK strong leadership

Seven in 10 voters are not confident the Conservative Party can provide the UK with strong and stable leadership, a new poll has found.

An Ipsos survey conducted between Jan 9-10 asked people how confident they were that either the Tories or Labour could provide Britain with strong and stable leadership.

Some 70 per cent said they were not confident the Tories could do so and just a quarter - 25 per cent - said they were confident.

Just over half - 53 per cent - said they were not confident in Labour’s ability to lead and 39 per cent said they were confident in Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

12:34 PM GMT

No 10 'confident' Rwanda will improve asylum system ahead of treaty ratification

Downing Street said it was “confident” Rwanda would implement improved measures into its asylum system in time for a new treaty with the UK being ratified by Parliament.

It comes after the House of Lords International Agreements Committee said “significant legal and practical steps” must be taken before Rwanda can be deemed safe and the treaty approved by Westminster.

Asked whether ministers would be following through on the committee’s recommendations, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “So I think more broadly on the process, we will let it follow its course as it is looked at in the Lords. We will consider issues that are raised - motions and amendments - in the usual way.”

On the matter of the treaty, she said: “In terms of the improvements and the assurances that we have with the government of Rwanda, we are confident that there will be implementation of all of those measures in line with the timelines for the treaty.

“So those assurances that we provided, which responded to issues raised by the Supreme Court, will be in place when we get flights off the ground.”

12:08 PM GMT

At least 29 Tory MPs have submitted letters of no confidence, claims ex-minister

At least 29 Tory MPs have submitted letters of no confidence in Rishi Sunak’s leadership, a former minister has claimed.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns is the only Conservative MP to have said publicly that they have submitted a letter to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee.

She told GB News that a couple of weeks ago her tally was “about 29 MPs” but after the events of recent days with the Rwanda Bill and dire opinion polls for the Tories she believed that number will have gone up.

She said: “I think we’ve got to act on it. We’ve got to replace Rishi and even though he won that vote… but hearing that more letters are going in… I still think he’s on borrowed time. I’d be very surprised if he’s taking us into the election.”

Asked how many letters she believed had been submitted, Dame Andrea said: “A couple of weeks ago I did a tally, it was about 29 MPs who told me, but that was pre this disastrous polling, what we’ve seen at the weekend and pre this Rwanda farce, what’s happened the last 24 hours. So I’m sure that more [have] gone in since the weekend.”

The threshold for triggering a no confidence vote is currently 52 letters. The number of letters submitted is never made public - it only becomes apparent once a vote has been triggered.

11:46 AM GMT

Tories have ‘real sense’ election is ‘slipping away’, says Osborne

There is a “real sense” in the Conservative Party that the next general election is “slipping away”, George Osborne has suggested.

The former chancellor also said it was difficult for Rishi Sunak to persuade voters he can deliver on the pledge he made on the steps of 10 Downing Street when he became PM to restore stability when there is an “open civil war” inside the Tory Party.

Mr Osborne told his Political Currency podcast: “It’s been a very bad week, obviously, for the Sunak government. And the scene was set not really actually by the Rwanda legislation but by that big opinion poll about a week ago that said the Conservatives were on course for a landslide defeat.

“That has, as we discussed last week, soured the mood in the Conservative Party, that real sense now that the election is slipping away and all the events since then will have only reinforced that feeling.

“I know there’s enormous frustration right throughout the Cabinet as well as the parliamentary party that they haven’t managed to focus the political message on the economy.

“So you know, the big offer that Rishi Sunak brought when he became Prime Minister was that he was going to restore stability and good government order. And that is hard to persuade people you’re doing that when you have an open civil war inside your party, and your two deputy chairmen resign on you and you have a big rebellion.”

11:19 AM GMT

PM tells peers to 'crack on' and pass Rwanda Bill quickly

Rishi Sunak played down the prospect of putting more Conservative peers into the House of Lords to pass the Rwanda Bill as he urged the upper chamber to “crack on” and pass the legislation.

Speaking to reporters in Hampshire, he told the PA news agency: “We shouldn’t be talking about these things because the House of Lords will be able to see that this is part of the strong majority in the Commons, they can see that this is a national priority. And I would urge them strongly to crack on with it because we all just want to get this done.

“The country is fed up and frustrated with the merry-go-round on this topic. I think people can appreciate that we have made progress last year, but we now need to finish the job and that’s why we should pass this scheme as quickly as possible.”

11:03 AM GMT

'More to come' on tax cuts, signals Sunak

There is “more to come” in terms of tax cuts, Rishi Sunak has signalled.

The Prime Minister, speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Hampshire, said a 2p cut to the main rate of National Insurance that came into force this month had been a “tax cut for 27 million people in work”.

He continued: “And we said that we do want to cut taxes for future events when we can responsibly do so. Our priorities are very clear. It is controlling spending and welfare so that we can cut people’s taxes.

“The plan is working, because we are already doing it - stick with it and there is more to come.”

10:53 AM GMT

Pictured: Starmer shown electric racing motorcycle during visit to Warwick University

10:39 AM GMT

Sunak 'determined' to get Rwanda plan 'up and running as quickly as possible'

Rishi Sunak said he is “determined” to get his Rwanda Bill through Parliament and deportation flights “up and running as quickly as possible” as his flagship legislation faces opposition in the House of Lords.

Speaking to broadcasters while on a visit to Hampshire this morning, the Prime Minister said: “I think it’s really important that we stop the boats, it’s one of the priorities I set out to the country last year.

“I am pleased our plan is working and that we’re making progress. The numbers last year were down by over a third, that hasn’t happened before, so that shows that we can make a difference here.

“In order to fully solve this problem we need to have a deterrent, so that when people come here illegally they won’t be able to stay and will be removed.

“That is why the Rwanda scheme is so important, and that’s why I’m determined to see it through Parliament and get it up and running as quickly as possible so we can properly solve this problem. We have got a plan, this plan is working, if we stick with it we can deliver the change people want to see.”

10:35 AM GMT

PM: Inflation 'doesn’t come down in a straight line'

The Prime Minister said the UK’s inflation rate had “ticked up” like other major economies, such as the US.

The Office for National Statistics said this week that Consumer Prices Index inflation rose to four per cent in December, up from 3.9 per cent in November, marking the first increase since February last year.

Rishi Sunak, asked whether he was frustrated by the increase, told BBC Radio Solent: “No, look, inflation doesn’t come down in a straight line. And like the US, France and Germany as well, everyone has ticked up a little bit in December.

“But the key news here is, when I got this job, inflation was around 11 per cent, now it is four per cent, so it has more than halved. That didn’t happen by accident. It is because we had a plan.

“We took difficult decisions which aren’t easy. But we controlled borrowing and welfare and spending. Because of that, the plan has worked and we are able to now cut people’s taxes.”

10:25 AM GMT

Sunak 'would like to be able to do more' on cutting taxes

Rishi Sunak said he would “like to be able to do more” in terms of cutting of taxes but only “when it is responsible to do so”.

The Prime Minister, asked by BBC Radio Solent listeners why he had prioritised a cut in National Insurance contributions in the Autumn Statement over investing in public services, said: “It was important for me to be able to cut people’s taxes and that is because the cost of living has been probably the dominant issue of my time as Prime Minister.

“And I always said, once we halved inflation, which we did last year, from 11 per cent down to four per cent, got control of borrowing and welfare, we would be able to cut people’s taxes and a few weeks ago we delivered on that. So someone earning £35,000 is seeing a tax cut worth £450.

“It was important to me because I believe that hard work should be rewarded. People work really hard and making sure they can keep more of that money to spend on the things they want, I think that is something people want - I wanted to deliver that and I’m pleased we were able to do that.

“And I would like to be able to do more when it is responsible to do so.”

10:22 AM GMT

Pictured: Rishi Sunak meets members of the Eastleigh football team

10:07 AM GMT

Peers must not seek to ‘deliberately delay’ Rwanda Bill, says Tory MP

A Tory MP said the House of Lords must not attempt to “deliberately delay” the Rwanda Bill or try to “kick it into touch”.

Brendan Clarke-Smith told Sky News: “They’re not just there to rubber stamp things, they are there to actually scrutinise and to suggest things, but really they also need to see the strength of feeling from the public. So we got it through with a decent majority in the Commons as well, what we don’t want to see is people deliberately delaying it and kicking it into touch.

“I mean this is a serious issue that needs dealing with now. We want to get those flights off.”

09:49 AM GMT

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Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, is currently responding to reader comments underneath his Telegraph column.

You can read the column and join the conversation here. 

09:30 AM GMT

Immigration poses ‘existential threat’ to Tory MPs, says ex-deputy chairman of Conservatives

Brendan Clarke-Smith, who quit as deputy chairman of the Tory Party over the Rwanda Bill to vote for a rebel amendment but then voted for the Bill at third reading, said immigration represented an “existential threat” to Conservative MPs.

He told Sophy Ridge on Sky News: “I think the problem is, and I represent what you’d call a Red Wall seat, so to speak, immigration is a really, really big issue. And it’s that sense of fairness.

“So a lot of people voted for Brexit, voted to leave the EU. But taking back control was about far more than just leaving the EU. It’s about policing, it’s about our courts, it’s about how we deal with things as a country, really. And people want to see fairness return.

“They are having to work very hard at the moment with the cost of living. They don’t want to see the pressure put on housing. The pressure put on GPs, the pressure put on school places really. So for many of us we see this very much as an existential threat really.”

09:13 AM GMT

Sunak made 'mistake' by snubbing World Economic Forum in Davis, says Osborne

George Osborne said Rishi Sunak had made a “mistake” by failing to attend the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

The former chancellor said the Prime Minister could have been telling business chiefs and world leaders a “good story about his premiership” but he had instead “left the field open to Labour”.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds attended the event. Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, have represented the Government.

Mr Osborne told his Political Currency podcast: “If anything, the absence of the Conservative ministers, with the notable exception of my friend David Cameron who’s been here as the Foreign Secretary, but of course, he’s not in the House of Commons - the absence of Conservative ministers and the deliberate absence of Rishi Sunak, which I personally think is a mistake, I think he should be here.

“I mean this is his natural environment. He could be telling a good story about his premiership if he was here, has left the field open to Labour.

“And it really feels like here at this global gathering, it’s the Labour Party rather than the Conservatives who have been kind of grabbing the microphone for Britain.”

08:47 AM GMT

Focus on economy, not Rwanda Bill, to win back voters, Davidson tells Sunak

Rishi Sunak should stop focusing on his Rwanda Bill and prioritise talking about the economy to win back support for the Tories, Baroness Ruth Davidson has suggested.

The former Scottish Tory leader said that while voters may not view Mr Sunak as charismatic he does have other strengths.

She told the BBC: “One thing they don’t doubt is that he is a clever guy who gets numbers, that he understands it, that he is invested in it, that his time at the Treasury has served him well, that he will work hard and assiduously in order to try and get the economy of this country back on track and that is important.

“Why he is focusing on this, I don’t know, because it just shows us split, it reminds people that the boats haven’t been stopped, which is one of his pledges, especially when he stands at a lectern that says ‘stop the boats’.”

08:26 AM GMT

Tory peer Ruth Davidson 'certainly won't be voting for' Rwanda Bill

Baroness Ruth Davidson said Rishi Sunak faces a “fight” in the House of Lords over his Rwanda Bill and she “certainly won’t be voting for it”.

Lady Davidson told the BBC’s The Today Podcast: “In terms of the Lords, I think he will get a fight.

“I think there is people in the Lords that are gearing up to have a fight and in terms of the Bill as it stands, whether I am there or not, I certainly won’t be voting for it.”

The Bill is due to be debated and vote on in the upper chamber in the coming weeks after it successfully cleared the House of Commons on Wednesday.

08:21 AM GMT

Rwanda flights 'probably never going to happen', says Tory peer Ruth Davidson

Baroness Ruth Davidson has cast doubt on whether Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan will ever get off the ground.

The former Scottish Tory leader who now sits in the House of Lords said that “there are dogs in the street that know” the migrant deportation flights are “probably never going to happen”.

Lady Davidson questioned why both the Tories and Labour had “completely ceded the ground in terms of making a positive case for immigration in this country”.

She told the BBC’s The Today Podcast: “Let’s have a debate about immigration, absolutely. Every sovereign nation should be in charge of who comes in; not everybody has a right to go to every country in the world - I completely get all of that.

“But where is the balance in this, rather than some of the language that is being used, some of the knots that people are getting into? And this thing about putting people on planes to Rwanda. I mean, there are dogs in the street that know that, one, it is probably never going to happen and two, if it does, it is going to be a number so small that it makes very little difference to the bottom line.”

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